On a recent visit to Dublin I found myself wandering into the Kilkenny Shop, on Nassau Street. It’s not a place I would usually visit, as I prefer to steer clear of Waterford Crystal and Orla Kiely but at that time it was exhibiting the work the city’s less well-known designer-makers.
Covering jewellery, ceramics, glass, millinery, knitwear, ceramic sculpture, textiles and fashion, I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I found. If it hadn’t been for the logistics of getting it back home on a Ryanair flight – where I would have had to pay a gazillion Euros for the pleasure of putting my fragile purchases in the hold – I would have bought half the shop.
Now I’m delighted to discover that I don’t have to go all the way to Dublin to give my credit card a good seeing to. Design Island, a network of designer-makes based in Ireland creating products for the interiors market, will be showcasing the work of 12 members at Tent London at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, E1 on 22 to 25 September.
The 200 square metre pavilion-style show will show furniture, lighting, glass, textiles and rugs. And with Dublin having recently been shortlisted for World Design Capital 2014 alongside Bilbao and Cape Town, I have high hopes for what I may find. And Ryanair will not be able to scupper me this time!
