Following on in our series of Irish Shops We Love, today we’re featuring Jam Art Factory, a gallery and design shop which aims to promote up and coming Irish based artists and designers.  Their aim is to give students around Ireland the chance to showcase their work as well as working with established artists resulting in an exciting blend.

Tell us a bit about the shop

We are a gallery and design shop on Patrick Street and have recently opened a new premises on Crown Alley, Temple Bar.  We specialize in selling Irish based art and design. We try to have a diverse range of stock from ceramics, paintings,  jewellery, photography, t-shirts and whole load of other pieces. A lot of the work we stock have a quirky and contemporary edge to them. We’ve been open for two years now and long may it continue! What inspired you to open your outlet and how long have you been up and running? We opened the shop two years ago to try showcase the talent the our little island has to offer. Ireland seems to be a hub of design activity over the last few years. I think the influence of a lot of different cultures and ideas from different nationalities living in Dublin and the Irish themselves has had a great effect. Also the locations we opened up in are very busy with tourists so we wanted to offer them something different than they usual leprechaun inspired souvenirs to bring home. However, in saying that, our customer base is around 50/50 with Irish and tourists. What’s your favorite part of having your own shop?  Describe a typical day for us My favourite part of having my own shop being able to pick and choose my favourite pieces of design and being able to put them all in one place. Working in the two shops day in, day out is made a whole lot easier when you are surrounded by beautifully crafted pieces. Also, there is an immense sense of pride in seeing it grow. Have you spotted any trends for SS2014 you can let us in on?  Trends I’ve noticed for SS2014?  Em, in jewellery design I’ve noticed a lot of up and coming designers using industrial inspired designs mixed with geometric shapes and maybe a strong neon colour mixed in for contrast. It’s really effective and eye catching. How can we find you?   You can find us at:Jam Art Factory Web Site Jam Art Factory on Facebook Jam Art Factory on Twitter and Instagram: jam_art_factory

Here at the artysmarty studio, we’re always talking and thinking about how much we love Irish craft and design.  Why just talk about it when we can write about it?  Thus began our new feature of ‘Irish Shops we Love’.  Over the next few months we are going to feature all of the amazing Irish shops that you may or may not know about, hopefully will visit for yourself and give you the opportunity to have a nosey about from the relative laziness of your desk!  First beautiful shop is the Irish Design Shop.Founded in 2008 by jewellers Clare Grennan and Laura Caffrey, Irish Design Shop stocks the best of Irish design including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, jewellery and furniture. Being makers themselves, they saw a need for a fresh approach to selling Irish craft which promoted handmade techniques and the makers behind the products.  In addition to the shop section of their site, they run features on makers around the country through articles and videos. In December 2008, they opened a pop up shop in the city centre (In Powerscourt Townhouse). Seeing the advantages of having a physical presence, gave them the initiative to look for a premises where they could operate their business from on a long-term basis. Tell us a bit about the shop.   Irish Design Shop was created by Clare Grennan and Laura Caffrey to showcase the best of craft and design made in Ireland. The products have a focus on craftsmanship and design that embraces traditional skills as well as a contemporary aesthetic. What inspired you to open your outlet and how long have you been up and running?   Having sold our own jewellery for several years at markets and fairs, and not being able to find a suitable outlet to sell our work, we were inspired us to set up our own shop. With the aim to create a suitable outlet for not only our own work but the work of other talented makers we knew were creating great work around the country. What’s your favorite part of having your own shop?  Describe a typical day for us! Our favorite part of the new shop is the layout and feel. We worked very closely with Sticks ff who built all of the fittings for the shop to create the warm, clean feel of the shop, using minimal colours and fuss to really showcase the products themselves. Have you spotted any trends for SS2014 you can let us in on?   We don’t necessarily follow trends in Irish Design Shop, but veer towards colourful, well crafted objects which are timeless. How can we find you?   You can find us at our new shop : 41 Drury Street, Dublin 2, or at our gallery shop in the RHA Gallery: Ely Place, Dublin 2, or on-line at : www.irishdesignshop.com