"Love Irish Crafts" - Meet Olga Tiernan from Grafik Fabrik

Happy Monday everyone - I'm sure many of you can breath a sigh of relief that the election is finally over - and now hopefully the changes brought about will get Ireland back on its feet as soon as possible. It was an interesting process to watch and be part off - I headed to the count on Saturday night here in Nenagh and there was a great buzz in the air. And exciting changes - I'd been canvassing for a local candidate on the weekends for the last few weeks and it has helped me start to understands politics (a tiny bit) here in Ireland. Thankfully, the candidate I'd been canvassing for got in so being part of the election celebration was a whole new experience.

Our town of Nenagh has recently been hit with both a restaurant and a music store now gone and rumors flying about as to which business could be next. It will really make me sad if the shops on the main street start boarding up and the town is left looking deserted. And yet, I continue to find that there is hope and optimism out there and each week through meeting the talented crafts people and business owners I feature, I am encouraged and inspired by all that they do.

Today I want to introduce you to the design work of Olga Tiernan who has a business called Grafik Fabrik. Olga told me that her passion for drawing started at the early age of four (and admitted she had to be patted down to make sure she didn't have some crayons hidden away - otherwise she'd head off and draw on walls).

Olga is a screen printer and designs patterns for textiles and now wallpaper. She went to art college in Galway and always knew she wanted to do some kind of design. Because of her interest in fabrics and fashion- it was a natural progression to start designing fabrics herself.

Olga told me" I like beautiful objects, it's really that simple and I love pattern. What pushes me to design the way I design is that there is so much potential for fabrics beyond florals and checks (which don't get me wrong, I love). But fabric is so malleable, so fluid, when you add a graphic to it, the graphic comes to life, fabric gives it a third dimension."

My favourite above is the horse head. The detail is just amazing and the graphic nature of the design brings it together in a whole new light.

Olga christened her company Grafik Fabrik because it is the combination of her favourite things, graphics and fabrics. But she used K, because it is her favourite letter - " I like the shape it makes, sad but true," she added.

I love these big chunky cushions - wouldn't they be great for a children's room? For lying against for reading or as big floor cushions?

Olga has also been delving into screen printing wallpaper as well.

What do you think of Olga's work? Do you find her direction modern and refreshing?

Remember my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign is all tied in with the Year of the Craft 2011. You can link through to the Craft Council of Ireland and Craft Northern Ireland sites at the top right of my blog.

Are you an artist? Please don't hesitate to contact me - spread the word to anyone and everyone you know.

Discover Miss Courtney's Tearooms in Killarney

Good morning everyone - sorry for my lack of posts this week. Had a wisdom tooth taken out on Wednesday so I've been laying low for a few days. Wonderful news for me though is that I became an aunt for the first time on my side of the family - Miss Amelia was born on late Wednesday evening (back in the States) and we are all so delighted. She looks just like my brother when he was a baby - July cannot come soon enough to go and meet her!

I've been spending a lot of time with Twitter lately linking in with fascinating people all over the world and it was through Twitter just this week that I met Sandra Dunlea of Miss Courtney's Tearooms down in Killarney. Sandra is the fourth generation lady in her family to run this business started by her great aunt Margaret Courtney in 1909. (It just goes to show, if you have a great business - recession or no recession it will survive!)

Sandra told me..."Miss Courtney's is an old fashioned tearoom serving afternoon tea fare, light breakfast and lunches. We specialize in home baking, loose leafed tea and old style service.

We use vintage china, silverware, old embroidered tablecloths , tea strainers and the decor is pastels, florals, old fabrics, chandeliers and the walls are covered in mirrors and old black and white photographs of family and locals from the 40's and 50's, vintage music plays in the back ground.

We serve about 20 tea varieties including , Assam, Earl Grey, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Rooibos, floral teas, herbal teas and fruits teas. My favourites are Earl Grey and Sweet Vampire. We also serve coffee and hot chocolate."

Miss Courtney's Tearooms light breakfasts are served all day and include eggs Benedict and Florentine, waffles, boiled eggs and soldiers. The lunch menu offers open and toasted sandwiches, prawns, baked ham and avocado and cheddar, salads and soups.

Isn't Sandra awfully elegant? I'm definitely going to take Sophia down here over the Easter break for a treat and we'll plan to see some local artists en route for my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign.

What appeals to me about this wonderful business is the sense of nostalgia and the history in this place. Sandra told me that she loves that the tearoom is a meeting place..."I grew up working along side my mother and grandmother, back then and long before my time, it was a place where friends, family and neighbours came to be together , to talk and laugh after mass, after school drop off etc.. It was a hub and a community place and I think that today somehow that has all happened again. People come and spend time in the tearooms, they relax and they really talk - in a world that has become so fast and impatient I love that. I love the nostalgia and the stories people tell us in the tearooms about their memories of the past and they often talk about visits to the grandparents for tea and the stations - the china and the music seem to trigger lots of lovely happy memories for people.

A lot of our customers knew my great aunt, my grandmother, my mum and now me and it's so lovely to hear their memories and stories of my family from years gone by. My great aunt Margaret Courtney was in business during tough times when people had little and she had a reputation for looking after and feeding people when they could not pay. This tradition followed on and I always remember my grandmother and mother were very kind and giving to anyone in need."

A visit to this place would be very good for the soul.

Miss Courtney's Tearooms is located at 8 College Street, Killarney, Co. Kerry. You can check them out online or phone at 087-6109500.

Blogging Phenomenon: Faye Dinsmore

Being a blogger - I'm fascinated to find out about other blogs and also interested to know what other people blog about and how they get their numbers up on their Facebook pages etc. This past weekend - I bought The Sunday Times and in the STYLE magazine was a piece on the Irish Blogger- Faye Dinsmore.

Faye is a Irish model and a mere 23 years old - she blogs about fashion, trends, rising stars, and behind the scenes in the fashion world.

She is a blogging phenomenon - in the article it was quoted saying she has over 200,000 Facebook followers - when I logged onto her Facebook page the number was at 243,000 and growing. These kind of numbers make fashion editors cry - what they wouldn't do to have that number of people following their blog pasts or even reading their magazines.

Of course, fashion is big business and loads of people love reading about fashion but even if I had a tiny percentage of those people following my blog - I'd be supremely happy.

Any thoughts here? What do you think about her blog?

"Love Irish Crafts" - Meet Eoin O'Connor

Above: The Boss

I discovered the work of Eoin O'Connor up at Showcase back in January. His quirky and colourful paintings really caught my eye.

Above: The Old Boreen

Eoin lives in Aughrim in south Wicklow. In college he studied architecture but soon found his real love was with painting so started that full time around 1997. The business has grown in leaps and bounds since then. From 2003-2009 he had his own gallery in Aughrim. He then closed it and opened Art Box in Kinsale, Co. Cork while continuing to paint in Wicklow. He's built up a loyal fan base - one customer in the United States has bought 18 of his paintings so far.

Above: Laughing at the Crossroads

Above: The Licker

Eoin loves a bit of humour which explains his quirky slant to his paintings - The Licker is a prime example. Who inspires him? Well the greats such as Picasso and Matisse. But his everyday surroundings - people, land and animals also have a great influence on him.

Above: Field of Poppies

Above: Hay You

Head over to his website - Eoin O'Connor and there you'll see a huge selection of his work both paintings and fine art prints - he really has an imaginative use of colour which is refreshing and will certainly make a room pop full of life. I'm particularly partial to his amusing animals - cows, pigs, sheep and a very NOSY horse - you'll see what I mean.

Above: Peadar Flanigan and The Haymakers

Just a reminder - my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign coordinates with the Year of the Craft 2011 supported by the Crafts Council of Ireland and Craft Northern Ireland. If you are an artist or crafts person - please do not hesitate to contact me. I've got loads of space left as I'm running this all year long.

So what do you think of Eoin's work? Let me know.

Saturday with Sophia: My Daughter's Creativity

My daughter Sophia is 10. She's taking after her grandmother with her artistic skills. And I love seeing how she progresses. This image above was a drawing she did of our sitting room - fireplace, photos and vases on the mantle. An excellent rendition I believe. Anyway, I told her if she kept up doing her drawing that I would devote a blog post to her on a regular basis.

We watch a lot of Disney movies together on Friday and Saturday nights when my husband is at work at the pub - he works at The Half Barrel here in Nenagh. This is what she drew after watching Avalon High on Disney a few weeks ago.

And her drawing notebook started with this charming "fashion" drawing - notice that the dress should be made of red wool and trimmed in yellow fabric.

And this I believe is Sophia jumping on her trampoline with my mother's marmalade cat name "Rumble".

This is her drawing of one of the wooden Nutcrackers we had on our mantle at Christmas time.

I thought it was appropriate to do this post now because this past Tuesday, The Irish Times had a great supplement talking about Art in the Classroom. Art is so important for all of us - we should partake in it, go and see art exhibitions and meet artist - you know I love doing that! We are pretty excited in this household that Tutankhamen has come to the RDS in Dublin - we'll definitely be booking tickets to see that - huge fans of Egyptian art in this house.

If you didn't see the supplement, see if you can find a copy - of course the Year of the Craft 2011 plays a big part and the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny has an exhibit on now called Jerwood Contemporary Makers which runs until March 10th.

There's a great description about what is craft? "Craft is about creating interesting unique objects for everyday use or display using glass, metal, clay, wood, textiles or a combination of materials. Craft can also be about how we make these objects, either traditionally by hand or using new technologies and materials....A crafts person can work as a furniture maker, basket maker, wood turner, ceramicist, potter, weaver, leather worker, candle maker, fashion designer, textile artist, blacksmith or jeweller.....

Craft is creating objects of great beauty and design, with great skill using your imagination and having great fun."

What a wonderful description don't you think? I'd like to be a crafts person in this sense but my craft is this blog - finding interesting things to talk about that I enjoy and hopefully you all enjoy too.

Don't forget - if you are a crafts person or know a wonderful craftsperson - please let me know - I'd be more than happy to blog about your work in my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

"Love Irish Crafts" - Meet Andrew Ludick

I decided I'd do 2 posts this week for "Love Irish Crafts" mainly because the two people I am featuring are husband and wife but also they have such different styles to their work. Andrew Ludick, is married to Rosemarie Durr, and his work is somewhat more contemporary. You know me and fish....we'll I'm smitten with the pieces above.

Andrew is a fellow American and came to Ireland over six years ago. He graduated from Columbus College in the States with a major in illustration but over the last four years here in Ireland he's been delving into ceramics.

His pieces are quite unique as they are hand built and then decorated with coloured slips. Once completed - they act like blank canvases to which Andrew then applies his paint.

Andrew find inspiration for his patterns and decorating from the work of Paul Klee, Joan Miro, Thelonious Monk and Eric Dolphy but also looks to the indigenous cultures of Africa and the Americas to inspire him as well.

Each of his pieces are unique - they way they are hand built and the way they are designed are "one of a kind" and they truly are pieces of art in the sense that when you purchase a piece - that piece is specially for you - no one else will own something quite like it.

I also find it so interesting how different Andrew's and Rosemarie's work is comparatively.

Andrew has his studio in Castlecomer Estate Yard.

Once again as a reminder - if you want to find out more about the Year of the Craft 2001 - please go to the Craft Council of Ireland site or Craft Northern Ireland.

Andrew primarily creates bowls and vases.

Other Irish Blogs

Above: Photo by Imen McDonnell from Married An Irish Farmer.

This morning I took a look through some of the other nominees for the Irish Blog Awards in the Best Personal Blog category. There are so many great blogs out there and I always love seeing what everyone else is writing about. Imen McDonnell, a fellow American writes a delightful blog about being married to an Irish Farmer but what I am particularly smitten with is her recipes and absolutely beautiful photographs.

Above - header from Lady Peach.

I also checked out Lady Peach which has a fun young feel to it - chatting about fashion, photography and even cupcakes.

There's The Boreen written by Deborah McMenamy, also an American.

Queen of Pots

Lily Collison

An American in Ireland

Just a few I had a chance to look through and this is only one category, if you love blogs and want to see what's going on here in Ireland check out all the nominees on the Irish Blog Awards.

Sorry for the short post today.

"Love Irish Crafts" - Meet Rosemarie Durr

Good morning everyone. Back to my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign. For those of you who have been following my blog regularly, you know that I have a bit of a thing for ceramics and pottery. How could I not? It's practically in my genes as my mother's own passion for it was all around us growing up. I even did my thesis on Italian Maiolica.

This week I wanted to introduce you to Rosemarie Durr. When she and I were emailing a few weeks ago she had just gone past her due date - expecting her first child so I'm incredibly grateful she took the time to send me along images. I expect life is a bit busier for her now as little Abraham was born 11 days ago. My heartiest congratulations! (check out her own blog for adorable first photos).

Rosemarie trained as a pottery with the Crafts Council of Ireland's world renowned pottery skills course. She flourished under that program, receiving Student of the Year award. In 2004, she and her husband, Andrew Ludick, moved to the Castlecomer Estate Yard in Kilkenny. This is a unique spot where 14 artists and crafts people have come together in converted stables to set up their studios and workshops for a hub of creativity. Andrew is also a ceramicist and they work collaboratively on projects as well as individually in their workshop. (and of course, he'll be up on my blog too).

Adding to it all, in 2006 the Rosemarie Durr Pottery Shop opened which is where they sell directly to the public but also sell other wonderful finds including interior accessories, gift ware and lifestyle products. I cannot wait to get down to Kilkenny for a day trip soon - they'll be lots more to post about.

I love the colours Rosemarie uses on her pieces. They are soft and subtle along and compliment her shapes beautifully.

They can integrate easily into your own existing collections or be the start of a whole new one. Believe me, I need another wing on my house if I keep adding to mine!

Please visit Rosemarie's website - here you can see more of her work, read her blog and learn more about what's going on down in Kilkenny.

Just a reminder - my blog campaign coordinates with the Year of the Craft 2011 which is running all year with the Crafts Council of Ireland and Craft Northern Ireland.

On a side note - Nenaghgal has been nominated for the Irish Blog Awards in the Best Personal Blog category so I'm quite chuffed about that.

Don't forget Nenaghgal is also on Twitter and Facebook and if you are an artist/craftspeople - email me- not enough of you are doing so!

Irish Made Products at Hedgerows in Birr

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I was up in Birr over the weekend. I took my daughter up to the great playground there and we went into the town later and stopped into Hedgerows. I'd been there several times before but now that I'm doing my "Love Irish Crafts" campaign - it became even more relevant to my blog.

Inside owner, Mary Noonan sells a wonderful range of products - accessories, jewelry, pottery, scarves, candles, glassware, artwork and much much more - but the best thing is that many of them are Irish made and many of them are already on my list to feature on my blog as part of my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign.

She has mixed in Irish made products with products from the rest of Europe but it all works well together. Hedgerows is full of colour and there is something there for everyone. Just inside the front door, to the left, is a hutch full of Nicholas Mosse pottery.

Soaps and candles from Bog Standard.

An assortment of scarves and jewelry.

The shop goes back from the street into several delightful rooms, all filled with great displays of much variety. There's even an upstairs.

A corner for babies.

More Nicholas Mosse in a window at the back.

The amusing Anna Nielsen prints.

A piece from Wild Goose Studio.

Hedgerows is located at 18 Main Street in Birr, Co. Offaly. Phone: 057-9122478.

If you are in the area, I encourage you to stop in. We all need to support businesses that sell Irish Crafts. Plus, there is loads to do in Birr - a fantastic playground for children, Birr Castle Demesne has beautiful grounds and gardens. It's is wonderful place to visit- plenty of room for walks and kids to run free. There's a science centre and The Great Telescope which will fascinate kids and adults alike.

Do you have a shop near you that sells Irish Crafts? Please let me know about it - I'd love to feature more.