What can Irish Design do for Tourism?

In the latest of her series on the Year of Irish Design Aileesh Carew picks some favourites from the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s seasonal campaign, which highlights the choice of gifts designed and made in Ireland.

As I sit to write this month’s piece, I spot some strategically placed shelves of Christmas cheer. I check my calendar to find out how many weeks left to … I really don’t want to say the word yet.

However, we all want to avoid the last minute rush around the shops and if we give a gift to a loved one or a valued customer we want it to be special and mean something. This year’s seasonal campaign, recently launched by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland, presents a wider than ever choice of gifts designed and made in Ireland.

Like a child thumbing through the Ken Blacks catalogue, I found myself engrossed in the Give Irish Craft website (www.giveirishcraft.ie), which is packed with an amazing array of unique gift ideas all designed and made in Ireland, along with information on where to buy products both online and in store. The navigation of the site itself makes shopping a breeze, with products clearly categorized and filters that allow browsing by price bracket.

There is a groundswell of energy and creativity in Irish design and craft at the moment, with a huge number of products on the market that embody inspiration, innovation and contemporary Irish design. My lust list is long and the following are just a few of the things I would love to see under my Christmas tree this year.

• Anything from Saturday Workshop, a family-owned company who mix traditional skills and new technologies to make simple yet original wooden products from locally sourced native hardwoods. Saturday Workshop recently featured in Ó, an exhibition of Irish craft and design at London Design Festival which received global recognition from esteemed publications including the New York Times Style Magazine, Dezeen and Wallpaper.

• Then I would cozy up with a huge box of Skellig chocolates and a throw from the Mayo based Foxford Woollen Mills, one of the last working mills in Ireland. Foxford’s collection of designs for contemporary interiors attracted international attention at the inaugural Irish Design Pavilion at trade show Maison et Objet in Paris this year.

• My Christmas cheeseboard will be displayed on a slab from the Meath-based Caulfield Country Boards, a company who produce a range of functional yet beautiful solid wood cutting boards recently shown in New York as part of DCCoI’s presence at NY NOW, one of the premier trade events in the US market. The boards and are now stocked in Brown Thomas.

• Of course Christmas is a time for sharing and these are just some of the gifts I will have on the list for my dearest (that I can enjoy too!):

• A watch from Ansley Watches, who design and create unisex timepieces. These beautiful pieces have an air of timeless elegance and a strong celebrity following, with Hozier and Amy Huberman numbered among their fans.

• A piece from Magda Bethani, a Wicklow-based ceramicist who creates functional ware, as well as one-off pieces of outstanding quality.

• A distinctively-Dublin framed print from young Irish studio me&him&you

Look for the recognisable ’Designed & Made in Ireland’ thumbprint symbol to easily identify genuine Irish products.

www.irishdesign2015.ie/liminal/

www.irishdesign2015.ie/programme/single/appetite-for-design

wearedesigngoat.com/

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* ID2015 is delighted that the inaugural Irish Tourism Industry Awards have included a special award to highlight good design in Tourism. For more information http://www.irishtourismindustryawards.ie/categories/

* Irish Design 2015 partners include Founding Partner - MCO Projects; Accommodation Partner - The Doyle Collection; Venue Partner - OPW; Exhibition Partners – DAA. Technology Partner - IBM

An overview of the core programme of events can be found at www.irishdesign2015.ie

Aileesh Carew is the Tourism Advisor for Irish Design 2015. Her role is to provide advice and management of the tourism programme for the year of Irish design 2015, to communicate and animate interest in the Year of Design – nationally & internationally - and engage with tourism industry partners to raise awareness for Irish Design 2015. She has spent most of her career managing hotels, most recently opening Ballyfin Demesne in Co Laois, putting it on the international map as one of the best small hotels in Europe. A graduate of Shannon College of Hotel Management, with an MBA from Copenhagen Business School and Business Management Coaching from Scandinavian Leadership, she loves to travel, read cookery books, occasionally cooking from them, eat out and spend time with her family.

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