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.