Robyn Gold, 64, is a longtime member of Temple Isaiah in Fulton, where she manages the gift shop.
But Gold is more than just the manager. She’s taken care of it since its early days and has helped grow it into the store it is today.
Gold lives in Columbia with her husband, Jeff. The pair met in Maryland on a blind date and have been married since 1987. They have two children, one who lives in Los Angeles and the other in Florida. Gold is also an independent sales consultant for Norwex, which sells cleaning products.
Gold and her husband first came to Temple Isaiah when their children were in second grade, nearly 20 years ago. Gold quickly got involved and let her love of people, shopping and community lead the way on a journey to creating Temple Isaiah’s gift shop, Isaiah’s Gifts.
“I used to see nice shops in other temples, and I said my dream is for us to have a proper shop and not just a display case,” Gold said.
At the time, there was no room in the temple for a proper shop, but there was a house on the property, which was known as “the cozy house.” At first, Isaiah’s Gifts took up just one room in the cozy house. To get to it, visitors would have to drive up the quarter-mile dirt driveway and find the little house next to the barn.
The journey from the cozy house to the current in-temple shop was a long one.
“For two or three years, it was a real struggle because nobody knew we were there,” Gold said.
Then Temple Isaiah Rabbi Craig Axler came on board. Gold credits him with being “very proactive” in getting the shop moved into the synagogue.
The shop is particularly important to Gold as a community resource. This is because, Gold said, Howard County lacked free-standing Judaica shops, and people would have to go to Baltimore to find Judaica in store.
“I’m a shopper, but I’m not an online shopper. I like to touch, feel and try to see things in person,” Gold said.
“I wanted other people who might feel the same way I do to come touch, feel and try beautiful things, and there was nothing else in the area,” she added. “We have a beautiful synagogue so why not have a beautiful gift shop?”
Isaiah’s Gifts sells items for b’nai mitzvahs, weddings, births, housewarmings and more. Gold initially stocked the shop with finds from garage sales and used a donated laptop to run the store. She has handpicked the shop’s stock since its inception and continues to seek out items with stories to tell. She stocks the shop with items from gift shows, local artists and even a shop in Israel.
The shop in Israel is called Yad LaKashish. It’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving Jerusalem’s older adult population a sense of purpose, self-worth and connection through creative work opportunities.
For years, Gold purchased items from abroad, and volunteers would ferry the items back to the gift shop after visits to Israel. She had originally heard about Yad LaKashish through Axler and his wife. Gold recently had the chance to see the Yad LaKashish shop in person and get a behind-the-scenes tour during a visit to Israel.
“I was able to meet [everyone] and see how they make things, and I get teary-eyed thinking about it now because I love when I know about art and I love a story,” Gold said. “I love to be able to tell a story about every piece of art [in the shop].”
While the items are unique, artisan goods, the volunteer-run Isaiah’s Gifts isn’t about making money. Any money made through the gift shop goes toward future purchases, because “it was never meant to be a money maker,” Gold said.
Gold’s vision for the gift shop has remained the same throughout the buildings, years and challenges.
“The mission and purpose was for the gift shop to be something for the community,” Gold said.
