SHOWCASE IRELAND DESIGN EXPO HIGHLIGHTS

 banner via Showcase Ireland

as you already know I have just returned from Showcase Ireland - Ireland's Design Expo held in the RDS in Dublin every year. the purpose of the trip was to source gorgeous things from Ireland for the online store I am hoping to launch here later this year and just as I had imagined the hall was bursting with them. i was totally overwhelmed by it all and thankfully I had allowed myself three whole days to bask in design heaven - i needed and appreciated every second of it. i have been looking forward to rounding up some of my highlights of the show here for you all to enjoy and although there were many more designs and designers I was impressed by and will talk about at a later date , these are just a handful that really spoke to me....

Matt Jones is an extremely talented woodturner based in Riverstown Village in Co. Sligo. his designs are simply wonderful. i loved his baby rattles, wood bowls and teardrop wine stoppers (pictured) which are 100% Irish as he commissioned the stoppers to be made in Ireland. 

i love simple ceramics and these small square delicate dishes from living ginger designs really caught my eye. they are made by second generation potter Louise Browne in Oughterard, Co Galway .

i just wanted to wrap myself up in Jude Cassidy's contemporary hand woven blankets. her passion is infectious and i loved listening as she talked me through the design process. Jude has kindly agreed to be featured in a design story article for the blog so watch this space ....she is definitely one to keep an eye on.

this is something that really struck me... parlour lighting by Co. Down lighting and furniture designer Donna Bates of i do cartwheels. Donna was showing as part of a group display from The Malthouse Design Studios in Dublin and Parlour Lighting is her newly launched family of limited edition lighting products that take inspiration from milking parlour receiving jars.

i have been admiring Jennifer Slattery's linens and table runners from afar for a very long time and they and Jennifer were just as lovely as I had imagined. her printed work is inspired by the past and in particular by her grandmother. her designs are positively charming ....tea party anyone ?

i love color and Dublin based design studio Klickity certainly provided a burst of it with their fantastic display of contemporary lighting and home accessories. i have long been intrigued by the idea of their flat-packed origami based designs and to see then in the flesh was fantastic.

Fán Regan's prints are everything I had hoped for and more. they are always top of my wishlist and it was just great to see them up close. i have a thing for anything that features animals or birds and so it was lovely to speak with Fán and to take a closer look at her unique work.

 i really loved meeting and chatting to Mark Heaney of craftwoods about his work but being mother to three boys it was his wooden toys that really caught my eye. a self taught woodworker, his range of handcrafted hard wood products are designed and produced in Co. Sligo, Ireland.

as I mentioned before I was particularly drawn to the HOME display which featured the best in Irish craftsmanship and design, featuring exhibitors from the show and invited guest designers and makers .it was a beautiful space that I found myself drawn back to again and again.  i loved this stacking chair(above) by Cork based designer Fergal O Leary of horizon furniture and the table and bench (below) from rocker lane workshop. the bench and table are re purposed from reclaimed wood and the bench their first ever upholstered piece was a collaboration with Foxford Woolen Mills.

all of the designers featured very kindly sent me these images or gave permission for me to use images from their websites.... my own badly taken phone shots from the event really would not have done justice to any of the designs....thanks everyone.

i am planning to feature more from Showcase on the blog in the coming weeks....if you would like to keep up to date you can subscribe to receive posts to your inbox by placing your email address in the space provided in the right sidebar or follow on Facebook or twitter where I also post notifications of new blogposts.

thoughts ? what do you like ?