An exciting time was had by one and all at this years Top Drawer 2013 in the London Olympia.  We were exhibiting there for the second time, getting amongst the peeps, meeting new buyers and makers.  Also, had a great time checking out new products!

 

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

 

Continuing on with our special ‘we love Irish shops’ theme this week we’re going to take a bit of time to get to know, Love Vintage! Tell us a bit about the shop. Love Vintage is literally the love of my life! I, Carolanne Joyce, am on my 13th shop in this lifetime. This one is the most joyful; its ethos is re-use, spread the joy, get all those treasured pieces out of the attic and into the light of my shop Love Vintage!! I also sell new and oid and books. What inspired you to open your outlet and how long have you been up and running? I adore things like vintage tea party, birdsong, Taschen books and our best seller, foraging !!!  We are all getting back to simpler times beside the most joyous book birdsong are artysmary’s bird brooches. Artysmarty brings such creativity into the shop and of course it sells like mad !!!! What’s your favorite part of having your own shop?  Describe a typical day for us! The shop is in a continuous state of change and excitement, re inventing itself to please all the diverse customers who love, like me, Connemara.  To travel through the mountains and breathe the still gentle energy of Connemara is bliss itself. I try to reflect that in my shop and what I choose to put in it, the artysmarty collection sits beautifully beside scarves vintage bags…gloves…clip on earrings and so many more unusual pieces from all over the world.  A feast for the eyes. That what Love Vintage is!  I love being able to choose mind blowing things that’s why I love having my own shop!  I am on my fourth year now yephee !!!! Have you spotted any trends for SS2014 you can let us in on? The trend towards seeing our surroundings in a new way has led to an increased interest in nature. Hence birds, owls, foxs, etc. are selling in lots of forms; brooches, books, necklaces [and of course the foraging theme is the next big thing. (TELL NO ONE !!!!). How can we find you? Check us out on Facebook : Love Vintage on Facebook Come to Clifden, Connemara we are on Market Street. Phone me for opening times; Carolanne +353 (0)85 1515 879.

  Welcome to the next installment of Irish Shops We Love! This time a quick look at F.E. McWillam Studio in Banbridge, Co. Down is set in beautiful surrounds and well worth a visit.   Opened in September 2008, the gallery celebrates the work of the sculptor, Frederick Edward McWilliam, who was born in Newry Street, Banbridge on 30 April 1909. A contemporary and friend of Henry Moore, McWilliam made his name in London and established a reputation as one of the most important sculptors of his generation. After McWilliam’s death on 3rd May 1992, his estate gifted the contents of his studio, originally situated in Holland Park, London, and a number of sculptures to Banbridge District Council. After several years of research a suitable site and funding was found to commence work on a purpose built gallery, sculpture garden and replica of McWilliam’s studio. Designed by Kennedy Fitzgerald and Associates, Belfast, the gallery is conveniently situated on the outskirts of Banbridge and just off the main Belfast to Dublin Road. Featuring a permanent display of McWilliam’s work, temporary exhibitions of Irish and international art, a craft shop, café and Banbridge Tourist Information Centre, the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio attracted over 43,000 visitors during its first year and continues to attract a wide range of local, national and international visitors.

 

    A brush with fame and fortune for this installment of Irish Shops we Love!   The Old Mill Stores is owned and run by Claire Graham & Tom Keane. Their stock runs the gamut of goods from hardware to haberdashery and crockery to craft that is high-quality, original and hard not to love.

The Old Mill Stores sell high quality, well-designed and sometimes amusing, homeware, gifts, craft, antique stoves and more – from the practical to the beautiful. Their guiding principle is simple – if they like it and think you will too, they buy it!

Tell us a bit about the shop.

People are looking for things to do on those cloudy days, and we do better on the less glorious days. People will stop and browse for half an hour, and our modus operandi at The Old Mill Stores is to stock items that will not be found in other places.  A lot of our trade would be divided between Irish visitors from all over the country and local people searching for a special art or craft gift for an occasion or event.  We have a lot of space here, particularly after doing a basement conversion, so adding extra ranges was a natural direction for us to grow in.  Already living over the store, we wanted to maximize the space to yield better retail potential.[/special_font]  

What inspired you to open your outlet and how long have you been up and running?

We wanted to sell things that couldn’t be found elsewhere in Ireland, and began travelling to source unusual stock from around Europe. Having brothers in Denmark and Holland made regular buying trips an attractive proposition for us as new styles and ranges were slowly added to the expanding business. We source new goods during our quieter periods — October, November and January. Copenhagen and Amsterdam are wonderful for finding interesting ranges in new design, as well as regular trips to France. Over the months, we became stockists for goods that nobody else was selling here. What’s your favorite part of having your own shop?  Describe a typical day for us With stove sales still accounting for a significant portion of sales, The Old Mill received an unexpected, and very beneficial, piece of promotion when three of their models were chosen for the final Harry Potter film. We had become quite famous for our stoves, as we were the only people bringing antique Scandinavian and European stoves and the filmmakers just came across us on the internet. They went on to buy three stoves, and that in turn led to us also being contacted for other stoves by film director Tim Burton. We did get to bring the stoves over to the UK, and while we didn’t get to go on the Harry Potter film set, it was a great opportunity for us to visit a number of markets over there. Have you spotted any trends for SS2014 you can let us in on? We would like to develop our own brand range, possibly along the lines of t-shirts, bags, scarves, aprons — a general gift and accessories range. We have a number of design ideas in that space that we see as being very marketable, as well as a possible pop-up shop either in Cork City or Dublin. Allied to that, we are looking at adding more vintage lines to the shop, as well as maintaining and developing our online presence further. The season here in West Cork has certainly started very well for us, and we expect a better summer than last year. How can we find you? You can find us on our website: The Old Mill Stores[/special_font] On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoldmillstores[/special_font] Or at shop: Millside Gortroe Leap Co. Cork Or By phone: +353 (0)28 34917[/special_font]