Established in 2014, Hata is run by Donegal native Ronan Hanna, who grew up steeped in the local tweed tradition. Ronan brings a contemporary feel to his custom tweeds while continuing relationships with local weavers and spinners. We recently asked Ronan a few questions to gain a greater insight into his creative process:

Tell us a little about what you make/design:

We design and handcraft tweed apparel and accessories from custom tweeds which are woven from locally sourced luxury merino and mohair yarns.

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?

Hata is based in Donegal town. The studio is in a constant need of cleaning/tidying which I attempt often but the result is temporary. The first thing is always music. Music might be the closest form of art, it certainly frees up the mind and gets it into a rhythm of creativity.

What is your favourite tool and why?

I have tailor’s shears which have been in the family for generations, which
amazingly are still sharp and use them daily.

What led you to choose this as a career? 

I grew up in the tweed industry and having lived abroad and been away from it, wanted to explore the possibility of designing and producing a luxury tweed to produce clothing and accessories.

You can purchase Ronan's distinctive handmade tweed bow ties here. 

What do you make?                                                                                                                  

I make teddy bears. All of my bears (and hares!) are handmade using Irish tweed sourced from Hanly’s Mill in Tipperary. 

Could you tell us a little bit about your studio? Favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mind set of making?
My studio, named Teddy HQ is a wooden cabin on our small holding in North Tipperary. We live in a beautiful place called Grousehall on the edge of the Slieve Felim Mountains. Teddy HQ is a wonderfully peaceful place and is its own little world. Once inside I seem to forget the rest of the world exists and the hours fly by. I listen to audiobooks when I am at the sewing machine. 

What is your favourite tool or process and why?
My favourite part of the process is finishing the faces. It is such fun to see how each one turns out as they are all subtly different from each other. This is the last thing I do, so when I make a batch of bears, I might do 20 faces in a row and it gives me a great sense of satisfaction to see them all come to life.

Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your bears?
The making process begins with cutting out the bears. I am so lucky to live near Hanly’s Mill and to have such a quality fabric to work with. They also offer a great array of colours, so I am spoilt for choice. Next is machine sewing the pieces, then each piece is turned and the bear is jointed. Each bear is then hand stuffed, this is the most time-consuming part. The eyes are then added and the head is stuffed. Then I have to hand sew shut all the stuffing holes. Next, the ears go on and finally I embroider the nose and mouth.
The inspiration behind the teddy bears was born from a desire to make something; I always wanted to create things but didn’t have any training. The inspiration behind the bears was my mother. I set out to recreate a bear for her to replace her childhood one that had been lost. It turned out so well and I enjoyed making it so much that I knew I found what I wanted to do.

What led you to choosing this craft as a profession? What do you love most about it?
Once I started making the bears it just seemed like I had finally found the perfect job. It is very important to me that I can offer an affordable, handmade Irish gift option to people. The thing I love most about this job is the happiness it brings to other people. The bears make people happy and it delights me to be able to do that.

You can purchase Edel's beautiful handmade Bears and Hares both online and from our Drury street location. 

We recently asked Michael Morris of The Bearded Candlemakers a few questions about his craft, making process and inspiration: 

What do you make?

I make small batch, hand poured soy candles.  Along with the making process, I also blend each of our scents using our own self-made scent profiling techniques.  We even go so far as to smoke the wax we use for our Turf Fire candle with real turf.

Could you tell us a little bit about your studio? Favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making? 

The studio is built behind my home, right by the Irish Sea and with the Mourne Mountains in the distance.  We used only forestry approved timber and lots of reclaimed wood.  All of which has been soaking up all the scents of our candles and as soon as you step in, that smell envelops you and that is definitely my favourite thing about the space.  Depending on the day there are different tasks. e.g one day could be a pouring day, the next a scent blending day or a packaging day.  Each task has its own sound track (generally a movie sound track) and that's how I get into my work mode.

What is your favourite tool or process and why?

I really love pouring days. They start off with the melter getting switched on and getting filled with wax. As it heats up, all the scents trapped in the wood of the studio begin to release. All the tasks involved are quite methodical, which I love, but it's the smells of each batch as I pour that really makes me happy. Especially because each scent has a personal connection for me.

Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your turf fire candle and Irish collection? 

To start, I will get the melter on and begin to melt the wax. As it melts I will stick down the wicks into the containers.  Then when the wax is at the perfect temperature, I begin to mix in the oils that I have previously blended and begin to pour...

The inspiration behind the Irish Collection was born from a desire to offer something to the Irish candle market, something that hasn't been seen before, rather than going down the route of Irish Linen or Irish.....something, I wanted to create a range of scents inspired by real places in Ireland that I have a personal connection with. I wanted to do these amazing places justice.  The turf fire candle was on the top of my list, there is nothing else like it on earth and as soon as we smell it, we are reminded of home and comfort.  It took months of work to perfect but it was such a rewarding project to work on.

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

The scent blending part of my craft is what continually inspires me, as it is ever changing and I am always learning. Even as a child, I was writing about scent and the stories around it! The thing I love most about it is choice! It sounds rather abstract but by following my passion and working harder than I ever have has allowed me to choose how to spend my time and being able to have that type of choice is awesome.

 Click here to shop The Bearded Candle Makers wonderfully unique smelling candles. 

What do you make?

I make Hand screen printed framed drawings/designs on Irish linen.

Could you tell us a little bit about your studio? Favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?

I am in the process of building a studio, up until now I've been working in a conservatory-style space surrounded by windows light and plants both inside and out. The warm woody natural tones around me make me feel grounded and never far from the nature that inspires me.

What is your favourite tool and why?

My pencil is, and my Steadtler fine black pen and notebook because these are the first marks that are made as I work through ideas, I find it meditative and relaxing.

Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your print collection?

Screen printing is a messy medium, which requires plenty of newspaper, pinnys and cloths. I develop my own screens and take great care to recreate the fine lines made by my pen. When printing I need to wipe my screens a lot to keep the line fine and clear. The colours I choose need to stand out against the natural Irish linen so I pick strong hues that in some way add to the image I created.

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

I love to draw, I get excited about drawings, preliminary sketches, anything that show the skeleton of the finished idea, I wanted to reproduce this and found screen printing fulfilled my desire to do this. I have found I like the variety of drawing and messy printmaking, I'm evolving and moving along within the medium, therefore my art is changing within this process.

We have a small selection of Martina's prints available through our online shop and wider selection along with some large framed prints available from our Drury Street shop. 

What do you make?

I am an artist and basket maker. I make baskets, lamps and lampshades and sculptures from willow I grow and harvest from our land in the hills in Tipperary.

Could you tell us a little bit about your studio? Favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?

Could you believe I do not have a studio yet? I still use the house, the kitchen table, when the kids are in school. I just push furniture to the side and take up the whole space. My family is quite used to it and has learned to carefully step around me when I am making. In summertime (and school holidays) I tend to move into the polytunnel where I do have a workbench. I love sitting in there between all the plants and food. The light in there is great! It does get a bit cold though in winter, that’s when I move back inside.

I am quite lucky that I don’t need much for making my work. Just a bench, my hand tools, and a chair. I am quite portable!Working from the kitchen table was ideal when the kids were small. They have grown a bit now though so we are making the plans for the studio. We would like to build it ourselves from wattle and daub (willow and mud) and it will have plenty of windows for natural light and lots of space to make and display my work. It is not hard to get into the mindset of making. I am surrounded by a beautiful landscape and lush vegetation. When I am creating I feel I somehow tap into that and let the willow express itself. This is especially true for the sculptures.

What is your favourite tool and why?

I love my small bodkin. A bodkin is a tool only used for making baskets. I love it because is seems to fit my hand very well, it is small and very useful. A bodkin is used at the start of the basket to split the base sticks and also to finish off the border at the end as shown in the picture attached.

Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your skibs? 

Joe Hogan, basket maker in Galway, introduced me to the skib in his book ‘basket making in Ireland’. Joe did a lot of research about the history of Irish baskets. The skib has such a long story behind it. It would have had slight variations in design from county to county and has only been found to be made in Ireland.

The skib, or potato basket was used for straining the potatoes once cooked. It was then placed on the cooking pot (or sometimes on the floor) and the family would sit around it to eat. Most families had no furniture. This basket served as a table. After use it would have been rinsed and hung on the outside wall to dry. Baskets would have had different dimensions according to the family size.

I love using strong and contrasting colours in the skib. All the colours are natural, they are just different varieties of willow, grown for their bark colour.

The entire process would start in winter when the willow is harvested. We grow about ¾ acre of willow of about 20 different varieties. After harvesting willow is graded by size and left to dry out completely for a few months. I would start my skib by selecting my willow bundles. I would select for size and colour. The willow is then soaked in water for a few days to make it soft and workable. Once I am happy with it I can start weaving.

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

For a long time basket making was just a hobby. I got fascinated by it from watching Patsy Cahill, basket maker in Mullinahone, Tipperary. I loved watching him, the rhythm of weaving, the pattern and I loved that he grew his own willow. Even though I did not know this would become my profession, I still felt I wanted to try out a lot of different possibilities for using willow. I love the material. Love how I can grow it, harvest and use it and be fully immersed in it. Another thing I love about it is that it is very sustainable.

For a long time it was just perseverance that kept me going. The itch to learn more and to get better. I don’t think there is another craft that takes such a long time to learn properly. For the first 5 years my baskets would always turn out different than what I would envisage at the start. I would give them away. Once I got better I could sell some. And it pretty much grew from there….!

We have a selection of Hanna's work available through our online shop, and larger pieces available from our Drury Street shop.