We had the rare opportunity to travel up north last week, to speak to the members of Craft NI in the Ulster Museum, as part of their programme for craft month. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the talented, up and coming designers and makers in Northern Ireland, as well as catching up with our stockist Catherine Keenan who also spoke about her experience as a glass artist. The programme for this August comprises of over 130 events including exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations and talks. It's a great reason to get out and explore the area in and around Belfast.

Taking the opportunity that evening after the talk to explore Belfast's "Cathedral Quarter", we found it was packed with a great selection of bars and restaurants, there is a vibrant, creative feel to the area. Michael from the Bearded Candle Makers had given us an epic list of places to visit and we managed to see a few; Established for coffee, The Spaniard for a drink and Made in Belfast for food. We also happened across a great bar called The Duke of York and had some amazing food in Hadskis.

If only we had been able to hang around for the weekend we would have made it our mission to visit St. George's market, where many designers and makers showcase their products. Our own selection from Northern Ireland in the shop includes Adam Frew's porcelain, Catherine Keenan's glass jewellery, Gail Kelly's lino print greeting cards and unique scents from the Bearded Candle Makers.

A few months back, we approached one of our favourite Irish ceramicists, Adam Frew about producing a tea pot for our shop. After much experimentation with shape, ease of hold and the all important pour, Adam decided upon this perfect tea pot, which is available in two hand drawn patterns. Wheel thrown in porcelain, each piece is individually made, resulting in each tea pot being unique.

For the month of August, we will be highlighting the work of this Portstewart based maker, with a selection of his larger pieces available to purchase in addition to the beautiful tea pots and complimentary lidded pots. Drop by our Drury Street shop to see the full selection. 

It's been a scorcher of a week here in Dublin (sorry to all of you in the West). The team here in Irish Design Shop have been making our best efforts to enjoy the summer sun... lunch breaks at Dubhlinn Garden, picnics in St. Patricks Park and taking off to one of Dublin's 5 Blue Flag Beaches in the evenings (Balcarrick, Killiney, Portmarnock, Portane, Seapoint). This week I made several visits to my local and favourite beach, Portmarnock.

Portmarnock beach, also known as The Velvet Strand, boasts 5km of white sandy beach with spectacular views of Lambay Island, Ireland's Eye and Howth Peninsula. Park at the Golf Links Road car park, follow the path over the sand dunes and you'll find you'll find yourself away from the crowds, in lesser trodden terrain. Finish the day off with a 99 from the ice-cream kiosk near Portmarnock's Martello Tower.

To celebrate the fine weather, we will be offering our customers a series of online promotions throughout the summer. This Saturday and Sunday customers can avail of 10% off all purchases from our SUMMER section by using the code 'Ninetynine' at the checkout.