Crafts Council of Ireland

Exhibiting at Showcase Ireland

01.30.2012 by Eileen Moylan //

I was in Dublin last week where I exhibited at Showcase Ireland in the Rds. It was a really enjoyable four days, I made lots of business contacts and also caught up with other craftspeople and makers.

Being my first time exhibiting at this trade show I really didn’t know what to expect. Now that I’ve “been there, done that” I thought it might be helpful to write about it and give some tips and hints for anyone considering exhibiting next year.

Firstly, applying for your stand. There are a number of ways you can go about this, the two familiar to me are applying to the crafts council or your local enterprise board. The Crafts Council have stands available in an area known as Creative Island. This space is for Irish makers only and I think only members of the crafts council are eligible to apply. The closing date was in April, I hadn’t realised it was this early so missed the deadline.

The other route is through your local enterprise board. I applied to the South Cork Enterprise Board, who were extremely friendly and helpful. I was successful in my application for one of their stands in the balcony area. They pay a percentage of the stand cost which was great as it would have been a big investment to come up with the full stand price.

As well as this they provided workshops to help us prepare for Showcase. These were invaluable and I learnt so much about what to expect and how to prepare. We did lots of work on our price lists and point of sale material for potential buyers. Having never done a trade show before I wasn’t familiar with how to lay out a comprehensive buyer friendly price list.

It’s also important to plan how you will dress your stand before you make the trip to Dublin. I decided on putting up wallpaper to cover the bare white partition walls. I also got some glass display cases to show my jewellery. The stand I had was 2 metres x 2 metres which made it quite deep. I wanted to draw people into the stand so decided to position one of the cabinets at the entrance and the other at the back corner.

The hall is open from 8am Saturday morning to set up, I would advise getting there early! You would be surprised how long it takes to unload the car, prepare the stand and then display your products. Also the earlier you arrive the quieter the hall. We were able to take up space outside the stand to assemble cabinets and sort stock. Had we left it later we would have been confined to the 2 metre stand as we would be in the way of everyone else setting up.

Once you have your stand set up on Saturday be sure to get some rest, you’re in for a very busy four days! I hadn’t realised how tiring it is to be on your feet meeting and talking to people. Also bring plenty of water, I could feel my voice going by Wednesday!

I’m making it sound like a tough few days but really once you’re prepared you can relax and enjoy the buzz of the show. As well as meeting buyers be sure to talk to other makers. One of the most valuable things for me was chatting to other people in the trade. Working on your own can be isolating so it’s great to meet with other jewellers and exchanged ideas and swop contacts.

I hope that gives you an idea of what to expect at Showcase and all going well maybe I’ll see you there next year!

Showcase

01.10.2012 by Eileen Moylan //

Happy new year! I took an extended break from the blog this Christmas so I could concentrate on making. While I’ve been tipping away in the workshop over the holidays, mostly tidying and sorting I began work on new designs last week. It’s been really busy but I’ve loved being able to spend a full uninterrupted week at the bench. A luxury I could only afford myself in early January!

The reason I’ve been working on new designs is that I’m exhibiting at Showcase this month. It is held annually in the RDS Dublin and brings together Irish craftspeople and makers. Showcase is the biggest trade show of Irish gifts so I’ll be one of approximately 350 exhibitors. I’ve never exhibited a Showcase before but thankfully I’ve been getting plenty hints and tips from makers who have many shows under their belts.

I’m really looking forward to not only meeting with buyers but also meeting other makers around the country. I know some jewellers exhibiting so it will be a great opportunity to catch up.

While it’s not open to the public if you do happen to find yourself at Showcase be sure to pop by stand F27 to say hello.

On other matters here’s a photo of the stacking rings I was making before Christmas. Click here to see how they were made.

Sorry about the poor quality photo my camera was acting up before Christmas. I’m delighted to report the break has done it the world of good and it’s back behaving itself again!

21st Century Icons

07.13.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This month the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny is hosting an exhibition of jewellery entitled 21st Century Icons. The exhibition brings together the work of twenty two artists who have been given the brief to reinvent the traditional Bronze Age torc.

In Bronze Age Ireland the torc was a symbol of wealth and status and was often buried with it’s owner as currency in the next life. The torc has changed from this symbol of wealth and power to a mass produced item of jewellery geared towards tourists. The aim of this exhibtion was to challenge these artists to re investigate this much used image and ask the question what can it convey about the Ireland of today.

Justyna Truchanowska, 21st Century Icons

The results are brilliant in their diversity, with the exhibition displaying a collection of techniques and materials. The piece that stands out for me is Christina Brosnan’s. This flowing leather and brass piece combines the essence of a torc with contemporary forms. I also loved Sam Hamilton’s silver interpretation of ipod headphones. As I haven’t been able to visit the exhibition I have only seen a selection of the work but hopefully when I get back form Birmingham I’ll be able to take a trip to Kilkenny. I decided to include it in my blog so you all get a chance to plan your trip to the National Craft Gallery before the exhibition ends on 28th July. It’s a great time to visit Kilkenny as the graduate show from the jewellery and goldsmithing course will also be running.

Tuula Harrington and Roisin de Buitlear,21st Century Icons

Collect 2011

05.04.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

I got my copy of Crafts magazine in the post this morning. Crafts is a contemporary craft magazine published by the British Crafts Council. It’s a great place to see new work from international craftspeople and as well as lots of exhibition reviews and listings. This issue came with a free supplement on the Crafts’ Council’s upcoming ‘Collect’ fair. Collect is an art fair that brings together international galleries representing over 300 contemporary makers and it’s on in London this weekend!

This year there are thirty seven galleries that will exhibiting at the Saatchi Gallery. The Crafts Council of Ireland and the National Craft Gallery will be exhibiting a number of Irish makers. This is an amazing opportunity for Irish craftspeople to be seen by international buyers and collectors. There are ceramic artists such as Sara Flynn and Jack Doherty as well as the amazing furniture of Yaffe Mays and Nest Design. I couldn’t find any Irish jewellers or silversmiths exhibiting this year but if I’ve overlooked someone please let me know.

As well as the main fair there will also be a number of other attractions such as the new Project Space where artists and designers will be collaborating and creating new pieces to complement the work on display in the main halls. They will also have another area dedicated to a selection of films by some of the exhibiting makers. This is a great addition to the fair to give the public a glimpse into the practice of contemporary craftspeople. The other focus of the show this year is the promotion of new and emerging makers with around one third of exhibitors being ‘first timers’.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to see all this great work in the ‘flesh’ but I’d love to hear from anybody who makes it to the Saatchi this weekend!

'Fragments No 2', Silver, Ane Christensen

Mastercrafter

04.20.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

I saw a tweet this week from RTÉ about a new programme they are making alongside the Crafts Council of Ireland. This being the Year of Craft they’re looking for amateur craftspeople around the country to apply. They require that you have foundation level skills but you must not or ever have earned your primary income from your craft.

This six show series will take fifteen crafts people from the following disciplines

Ceramics
Wood (woodturning)
Glass
Metal (blacksmithing)
Textiles (weaving)

I know what you’re thinking..no silversmiths!

The idea of the show is that they will place each participent in an intensive two week apprenticeship in the discipline of their choice. I’m sure as the Crafts Council are involved there will be brilliant master craftspeople on hand to run these workshops. These fifteen will then be whittled down to five finalists, one from each discipline. The series finale is recorded in Dublin with one of the finalists being crowned ‘Mastercrafter of 2011’.

It’s great to see RTÉ coming up with interesting ideas like this which involve crafts. I can’t remember the last time I saw a series dedicated to Irish crafts apart from ‘Hands’ and I think that was filmed in the 1980’s! It also gives fifteen amateur craftspeople the opportunity to work with a expert for two weeks. I sure there are lots of talented crafts people around the country who are considering concentrating full time on their craft hobby. This would be the perfect opportunity to refine their skills and also give them lots of free advertising!

If you want to give it a try here’s the link to the application form. All you need to do is fill out the form and send a photo of you and a piece of your work. Applications must be in by the 9th May so get writing and good luck!

Tread Softly

04.13.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

Yesterday I was in Cork city for the day and took the opportunity to go to the Crafts Council of Ireland textiles exhibition in the Cork Public Museum. This exhibition has been touring the country since January and has been in Cork since the 4th March.

Before I went up stairs to the show I had a look around the museums permanent exhibition. The exhibition goes through the history of the city and country through different displays and artifacts. They have a great display of Cork silver with lots of pieces of Republican silver. Republican Silver is silver which was produced in 1922 by William Egan and Sons which does not have a full Irish hallmark. During the Civil War there were three months in which all road and rail links to Cork were cut off so Egans were unable to send their work to Dublin for hallmarking. The owner Barry Egan had the work stamped with a punch which had the symbol of a ship and two towers (the Cork Coat of Arms). Once the city reopened the punches were destroyed and only sixty to eighty pieces of Republican silver exist, for this reason it is much sought after by collectors. I’ll write a post about Republican silver some other time, now back to the Cork Museum!
Anyway after seeing Daniel O’ Connell’s coat and Micheal Collins gun and lots of other interesting things I went up stairs to the textiles exhibition.
The exhibition shows the work of seventeen textile artists who have taken their inspiration from the W.B. Yeats poem ‘Cloths of Heaven’. Here’s the poem for any of you who don’t remember it from school.

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

The work was selected by Ann Mulrooney (Curator of the National Craft Gallery) and Angela O’ Kelly (Designer, Jeweller and Curator). The great thing about exhibitions with a theme like this is you can explore each artists interpretation of the poem. Each artist has picked up on something different and interpreted it through a range of media and techniques.There was everything from traditional hand stitched patchwork, to pieces incorporating metal and print.

I had planned to take lots of photos of the exhibition to discuss the work but my camera died without warning. What I couldn’t photograph was Helen O’ Shea’s beautiful works ‘Guide Rope’ and ‘Diving’ which were amazingly intricate. I also missed out on showing you Pascale de Coninck’s ‘ This Little Light of Mine’ with it’s dense and rich colours and catchy title that had me singing the song all the way home! So here’s a few photos I managed to take which should entice you to go along to the show..it’s in Cork until the 30th April.