Located in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Article stock contemporary homewares and gifts by Irish designers, as well as all the beautiful stationary you could ever long for. We find it fascinating that Article is located in Lord Powerscourt's former dressing room with its spectacular original plasterwork ceiling dating from 1780 too!

Just around the corner in the Westbury Mall is Stable, an independent brand showcasing the best in Irish textiles and clothing. They are particularly passionate about wool and tweed and work closely with Irish knitters, weavers and craft makers to produce high-quality textiles. Their gorgeous shop is a great place to explore a variety of scarves and accessories to wear and for the home, in different designs, patterns, shapes and sizes.

Designist focus on products being beautiful, useful and affordable. A design led gift and homeware store, we love just how much they collaborate with designers and crafts people, lots of which are Dublin based. They also have quite the collection of of brilliant greeting cards from local artists and designers.

Previously our neighbours just around the corner, Hen’s Teeth have since moved to a bigger and swankier store and studio in Blackpitts, Dublin 8. This very cool shop sells prints, brooks and ceramics, and hosts some great workshops and markets featuring other local makers and artists. Their new set up also has a diner serving some great bites to eat and fab coffee. Great vibes in here.

Located in Temple Bar, Scout is a gorgeous lifestyle shop with selections of homeware, knitwear, accessories and top-notch hand picked vintage finds. Those well versed in the Dublin fashion scene will remember the owner Wendy Crawford from from the fab Bow, the shop she ran on a co-op basis in the Powerscourt Centre with Eilis Boyle and Margaret O’Rourke.  

Just up the road from us is Fresh Cuts, a sustainable clothing shop using clean and simple designs. We love that all their labelling, printing and finishing is done right here in Dublin too. Big ups for ethical fashion!

Right on Essex Street in Temple Bar, Indigo and Cloth are a modern and minimalist boutique stocking the best in both Irish and international independent menswear. They also host a Brewbar in tandem with local coffee and tea experts Clement and Pekoe. 

We love seeing the bright and cheery vivid pink shopfront of Om Diva each morning. This boutique sells vintage clothing, jewellery and homewares, as well as contemporary pieces by local artists. We love the diversity and creativity here from emerging Irish talent. They also host workshops and stock beautiful pieces by two Dublin makers This Jewellery, one of which we share a studio with!

And of course our neighbours, Industry & Co, who specialise in Irish and International design orientated gifts, lighting, and homewares. They also host a fab in store cafe and deli with great coffee.

Handmade in small batches in the Sileveardagh Hills in Tipperary, we're big fans of the beautifully scented candles Tinnock Farm creates using 100% soy wax, cotton wicks, and a range of all-natural oils. Each are hand-poured, vegan and have a burn time of roughly 75 hours, as well as being free from paraffin, palm oil and dyes.

Tinnock Farm put an emphasis on sustainability within both their craft as well as their day to day lifestyle. They use no unnecessary packaging, and their small-holding includes an area of hazel coppice, vegetable gardens, a young orchard, streams and paddocks. They aim to be fully self-sufficient, growing much of their own food and reducing waste where possible. Tinnock is also a habitat to a range of native Irish flora and fauna including long-eared bats, red squirrels, pine martins, primroses, bluebells and cowslips to name just a few.

We always have a Tinnock Farm candle burning in our Drury Street, especially their festive Winter Spice to keep us cosy during cold winter days! We asked Kristen Ivors from Tinnock a few questions to learn more about their craft, their process and what inspires them day today. You can check out more of their handmade candles here. 

Tell us a bit about what you make.

I make soy wax candles and cold process soap with a focus on quality and simplicity, as well as being zero waste and free from plastic. 

Could you describe your studio to us? What is your favourite thing about the space?

I work from an old stable attached to our farmhouse. I love that everything is at my fingertips, I can see across the yard and have lots of room to work! My husband made me a concrete work bench which is the perfect surface for candle making, and all of my work happens on top of that. 

How do you get into the mindset of making?

I love walking into my studio in the morning with a cup of coffee, putting on some music, and starting my work. My dog Woody is my studio companion and he always at my feet while I am mixing or boxing up orders!

What is your favourite tool and why?

My favourite tool is an old jam thermometer that is just great at giving temperatures and stirring wax!

Can you describe your making process to us?

Candle and soap making is all about numbers, temperatures, and a lot of gentle stirring! To start a batch of candles, I melt soy wax flakes in a large boiler and add a touch of coconut wax. After heating the waxes, I mix and stir in my scents, either essential oils, or a combination or essential and fragrance oils, until they are fully incorporated before pouring into jars. When the candles have set, I lid and label them, and they are cured for a few weeks.

What is your inspiration?

Our farm, nature and my gardens as well as the peace that surrounds me everyday. I would love to give everyone a bit of that feeling of calmness when they are lighting their candle!

What led you to choose this craft as a profession? What do you love most about it?

I have always made my own candles and the business grew after some people wanted to buy them. I love how much freedom this craft gives. I spend half of my day making candles and soap, and the other half in the vegetable garden, chopping wood, or checking up on our animals. It gives me the time to be able to run a business but also further our goal of becoming self sufficient. 

What is your favourite candle you've created? 

My favourite scent changes with the seasons and moods, but you really can’t beat a good lavender candle!

 We stock a range of Tinnock Farms handmade candles both in store and online.

John Hanly Woollen Mills is steeped in tradition and the company is renowned for their excellent craftsmanship, outstanding quality, and beautiful products.

Established in Ireland in 1893, The mill specialises in the manufacture of scarves, throws, and fabrics in wool, cashmere, lambswool, mohair, and natural fibres.

The company has been under the management of the Hanly family since its founding and is based in Ballyartella, just outside the quaint little town of Nenagh in County Tipperary.

Before they moved their operations to Nenagh, Denis Hanly and his son John operated a number of handlooms in South County Tipperary. In 1893 they moved their machinery to Ballyartella in the North of the county where they are still located. They took over a vacant mill beside the Nenagh River and a large wheel provided the power necessary to operate the machinery.

With 126 years and counting in the textile business, the mill has developed the art of weaving using modern technology and machinery. Currently, the mill has 32 employees. 

We sat down recently with Andrew from John Hanly to ask him a few questions about the design and making process of these heritage products.

• Could you describe the studio to us? How many people are on the design team?

 Currently, we have 2 full-time designers working on the whole collection ranging from the capsule fabric collections, for both menswear and womenswear and the interior ranges across all the qualities of wool. We produce these collections using pure yarn blends including pure wool, lambswool, merino, cashmere, and mohair.  

We do not have a design studio as such, but we do have one main office which has all the design records filed away since the company started. The office houses a large window which gives great access to a lot of natural light, which is crucial when selecting colours for the designs. It has all the yarn colour cards which are divided into their individual qualities and thicknesses. It also contains many of the company’s previous fabric collections both for the company itself and its independent clients, which is an amazing resource for the designer to recap over previous trends, scales, and colours used.

The designers create every single piece of cloth using traditional pen and paper. They work out the pattern, repeat, scale and colours of the fabric by using the complicated process of matching the mathematics across the warp and weft, which varies depending on the fabric type chosen, yarn quality and individual product. 

• What inspires the designs created by John Hanly?

 One of our designers Kate follows fashion and interior trends across many social media platforms to stay on top of future key colour trends, both for fashion and interiors. She also attends trend forecasting seminars twice a year to see first hand where the trends are going and what is likely to be in demand for future collections. This helps the Hanly brand to maintain their balance of keeping up to date with trendsetters and influencers, adding new twists to their collections, whilst keeping their name firmly set as one of the highest quality Irish brands known to date.

As well as following colour trends, inspirations come from all around for Kate. She herself lives in a beautiful mix of being surrounded both by the sea and countryside. She takes inspiration from everyday natural occurrences that she is influenced by, your typical sea colours mixed with contrasting skyscapes of sunset or of purple heather that appears on mountain landscapes. 

The designers keep a mix of the traditional, blended with the new for all aspects of the customers' needs. Some want more traditional patterns and colours and others are looking for something that little bit different, so the designers have fun with getting the balance right for the brand.

John Hanly is just one example of an Irish company whose roots are firmly planted in our rich heritage of craft and tradition. It is a company which embraces new technologies and design to ensure the brand remains current and relevant for new audiences to appreciate. 

A selection of John Hanly products such as the always popular classic herringbone scarves and super soft cashmere, merino mix blankets are available to purchase here.

Tell us a little bit about what you make:

I make a variety of tableware using both stoneware clay and more recently, local clay from the Dublin mountains. Each piece is hand thrown in my studio in Shankill and glazed using a variety of bought glazes and again, more recently, my own glaze recipes. The glaze tones I generally use are quite earthy and minimal.

Could you describe your studio to us? What is your favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?

My studio is an 8foot by 8foot lean-to shed in my garden which I bought last Summer. I built the internal worktops etc. myself. This was an upgrade from the ……shed I was squeezing into prior to that. My favourite thing about the space is the light, I added an extra window just before the Summer of this year and having the brightness and view of the sky as I sit at my wheel helps my creativity. To get into the mindset of making I think that the music I listen to really helps me to focus, listening to music while staring at a spinning wheel is hypnotic and really pulls me into my craft. The ever-growing number of shelves which I have built in my studio gives me that added burst of motivation to fill them with new creations.

What is your favourite tool and why?

When I started pottery last April I made all of my tools from items around my house, and since I have progressed further, some of these tools have been upgraded to bought pottery tools created for the craft, however my favourite tool to use is still an old kitchen steak knife which, having tried and tested many other tools at this stage, never fails and just feels right in my hand.

Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your local clay bowls?

I dug the local clay from the Dublin mountains, about 20 minutes’ drive from where I live in Shankill. It’s quite a labour-intensive process which includes breaking it down, sieving it several times, washing it twice, drying it, and finally wedging it (kneading it), from there it can finally be thrown, dried, trimmed, bisque’d in the kiln for 19 hours, waxed, glazed, and fired again for 19 hours!

The inspiration behind my clay bowls was to firstly keep it local, to have handmade Irish ceramics made from hand-dug Irish clay! I think that these products are really beautiful in that they let the natural surface speak for themselves, the minerals in the clay also cause a change in the glazes used as the natural compounds  seep into the glazes which is something I find really exciting!

What led you to choose this craft as a profession? What do you love most about it? What do you dislike?

I’ve been making ceramics for little over a year now. I was a chef for 12 years and I have always had an interest and passion for ceramics, after returning from traveling for 2 years around South America and Australia I decided to buy some clay one day and have a go, from there I decided I liked it and to take a break from cooking professionally and focus on making pottery and it all has kicked off since then.  

What I love most about what I do is that I’m making something that can last forever, we all have a favourite mug or a something that reminds us of a time or a person who gave it to us, I like the idea that something I make could be passed down and looked after “remember when we got those mugs in Ireland”, I think that’s kind of special.

What I dislike about this craft, at the moment, is that I’m used to working as part of a team and at the moment I spend a lot of time by myself, which is not necessarily a bad thing but it’s quite different for me, I could see myself possibly working in a collective studio of some variety in the future.

-Images by Alex Louviers

You can purchase a selection of Daniel's work here. 

Tell us a little bit about what you make

We make bags and leather accessories inspired by cycling using waxed cotton/canvas and leather. 

Could you describe your studio to us? What is your favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?

The studio is our front room which has granny net curtains and a fireplace. The room overlooks fields of cows and sheep. It also has a huge workbench which dominates it and where all the magic happens. What we love most about the space you ask? Well, that's simple. It’s having space! Previously our home/studio in London was so small, we could barely fit both of us in, we had to cut fabric on the floor etc. So the fact that we have a dedicated studio space that can accommodate all the equipment is simply awesome. This also helps with the headspace, once you’re in there you’re at ‘work’ even though this room is a few steps from the kitchen and cupboards full of treats. Once we’re there, we turn on the sewing machine, the lights and the music there’s no stopping us unless we get an exciting delivery or the sun is shining too bright and we must go out cycling.

What is your favourite tool and why?

This requires two answers. For Greta, the favorite has to be Pfaff, the sewing machine. I mean it’s like magic, once the flat pieces of fabric and leather meet Pfaff, they become 3D, they become a thing, an object, a design. For Zulfi it’s the metal ruler and the scalpel, it’s the hole punch, it’s the mallet and all the masculine things that come in the process of making a bag.

Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your nip out bags?

The Nip Outs were inspired by the cycling bag ‘musette’ you’d see people using out and about on the weekends stuffing it with snacks etc. It’s the equivalent of a cotton tote bag but for cyclists. We loved the simple concept, but we wanted a cool, stylish one that would close properly and would adjust in height, so we just had to make one! The colours just sort of came to us, there is so little sun in UK & Ireland that once we saw the blue waxed cotton we just had to have it and create our own little sunshine you could carry with you. As for the making process.. Well, we start by cutting the fabric, leather, lining, and webbing. We then treat the leather edges, smoothing them over, then pairing them with the fabric using sam brownes, we move on to the lining, attach the metalwork onto the webbing and finally combine it all together! Voila! We have a little Instagram video in the ‘highlights’ if anyone is interested in seeing it rather than reading it.

What led you to choosing this craft as a profession? What do you love most about it? Dislike most? 

So we came from two different backgrounds, Interiors/furniture (Greta) and Fashion (Zulfi). Vel-Oh slowly started to become a thing once we started to cycle to work on a daily basis and quickly realised none of our bags suited this new daily way of commuting. We wanted a bag that wouldn’t look out of place at work, yet was comfortable and could deal with any weather whilst we’re out on the bikes so one day we decided to just make one! 24hours of non-stop sewing we had a prototype and we were really impressed with ourselves (haha) so much so that this project which was only meant for ourselves started to look more of a business opportunity. We loved being creative and didn’t want to stop doing it! that’s definitely our biggest motivation, having an outlet for our creative minds. As much fun as all this sounds it came with so SO many challenges, of course, being a two people business we constantly battle suppliers who would only deal with big companies that were buying 1000000s of meters or materials, we were unable to find a manufacturer willing to work with us on small-scale etc. But we took all this with a pinch of salt and didn’t give up. We finally found a few awesome suppliers and Pfaff the sewing machine just sort of happen to come to our attention so we started making it all ourselves! I guess you could say that our biggest dislike is that we have to rely on others in providing the material on time, and having it in stock when we need it etc. But no job comes without its cons, right?

We stock a selection of Vel-Oh bags, including the classic Blackpack and super handy Nip-Out bags.