Gali Begim came to the United States from Israel 20 years ago hoping to live a better life. She was 21 and had just finished her two years of military service.

“Life in Israel was not easy, politically and economically,” Begim said. “I wanted to explore and live differently. To me, America was the land of opportunities.”

Begim likes to think that she had made the most of her opportunities. Today, she is owner and chief executive of Gali Art, a maker of customized iron home furnishings, and co-owner of LifeMel Honey, a Web company that imports Israeli honey to sell to cancer patients going through chemotherapy.

Several years after she moved to the United States, Begim’s father, Kobi, joined his daughter’s family in America. Begim launched Gali Art as a creative venture to turn the blacksmith hobby of her father into a business.

In addition to handling customer relations and marketing, Begim designs and assists in literally hammering out creations.

“We specialize in iron work. It’s not an iron shop, it’s a blacksmith shop in an old-fashioned way,” Begim noted. “Everything is 100 percent handmade.

“We started out with basic furniture like lamps and tables,” she continued, “now we do everything from fire screens to curtain rods. We work with a lot of big designers, architects and celebrities.”

Celebrity clients include Diane Keaton, and Gali Art’s pieces can be seen in the movies “Batman” and “Planet of the Apes,” among others.

The honey business grew out of her volunteer work at Los Angeles Childrens Hospital. A few years ago, Begim saw a TV program on Israeli honey that helped cancer patients deal with some of the side effects of chemotherapy.

That story inspired her to bring the honey over for use in the United States.

Begim and her husband, Moshe, and partner Eric Alon launched LifeMel Honey, and its Web site, LifeMelUSA.com, a year ago. Customers can order straight through the site, which features information and links to stories on the beneficial properties of the honey.

Begim lives in Calabasas with her husband and three boys, Dean, Lee and Neev. Her free time is spent on her volunteer work at Childrens Hospital and Larger Than Life, an organization that assists children with cancer.

Yoo Mi Chin