A series of high profile events to showcase Ireland’s creative design talents is being planned for the capital in June, marking 2011 as Year of Craft...
‘Designer Dublin’, the brain-child of the Dublin City Enterprise Board, is running in over thirty venues across the city and aims to highlight the work of contemporary artisans, bringing affordable craft and design to the public’s attention.
Some of the highlights of Designer Dublin are expected to be an evening Craft Studio Trail on June 10th with a ‘Lunch with the Masters’ event with Paul Costelloe, Peter O’ Brien and Deirdre McQuillan earlier that day. Most of the twenty-one design and craft studios, which are opening their doors to the public from 5pm to 8pm on June 10th, will be offering once-off discounts for the evening. 'Madame Makeover' Clare Devereux will give a talk on 20 June 'Learning How to Accessorize' so you can creat your own individual look.
Workshops, seminars, exhibitions and demonstrations are also being planned for Designer Dublin, including craft demonstrations every Saturday in June at the Kilkenny Shop on Nassau Street, giving the public an opportunity to interact with the designers involved.
Liz Quin from Quin and Donnelly will be revealing her ‘Secrets to Design Success’ along with fashion photographer, Agata Stoinska, at the Manion House on June 13th. Meanwhile, an industrial designer, a glass designer and a furniture designer will be sharing their trio of design experiences at the ‘Crafting Your Future’ talk at the Central Library on June 14th.
Design Consultant, Eddie Shanahan, will be giving his perspectives on new product development for the craft industry at the National College of Ireland on June 20th. The Designer Dublin Showcase, ADORNMENT and a visual poem called: ‘Dais’ by the fashion stylist, Sonya Lennon, will be screened at European Union House on Dawson Street from June 1st to 14th.
Senator David Norris and Sonya Lennon are both officially launching Designer Dublin on June 1st, with craft demonstrations at the Kilkenny Shop on Nassau Street from 6pm to 7pm that evening.
Eibhlin Curley, Assistant CEO with the Dublin City Enterprise Board, is one of the main organisers behind Designer Dublin. She explained: “It’s about celebrating the abundance and variety of high quality craft produced in Dublin, encouraging the public to re-discover, and invest in, affordable local craft. As a business support agency, the Dublin City Enterprise Board is organising Designer Dublin as a way of encouraging people to buy crafts from local designers and artisans, helping to grow and sustain jobs in the creative sector in the longer-term.”
Designer Dublin is a collaborative initiative to promote craft and design in Dublin during the month of June. Dublin City Enterprise Board a small business support agency developed the idea. We brainstormed with Dublin designers and state agencies and devised an exciting programme of activities including a craft trail, workshops, exhibitions, craft demonstrations, public talks and it will launch on 1st June 2011. It is part of the Year of Craft 2011 celebration of craft.
This initiative is to serve the Dublin craft sector in terms of:
• Exposing Dublin craft work to the consumer for potential sales.
• Showcasing Dublin and it’s craftspersons as a centre for quality Irish crafts in the minds of domestic Irish consumer and international visitors.
• Branding and profile-raising the substantial craft sector in Dublin.
• Collective marketing for the sector by building cohesion between craftspersons
• Strengthening the Dublin Craft sector in terms of communications and marketing.
Designer Dublin’s objective is to support and encourage the growth of the professional craft industry and to promote Dublin as a centre for exciting and innovative hand made craft.
Sponsors include Dublin City Enterprise Board, Dublin City Council, Craft Council of Ireland, INTERREG IVb, CreativeD Network, Fingal County Enterprise Board, South Dublin County Enterprise Board. The County & City Enterprise Boards are funded through the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund.
Media sponsors are the Sunday Business Post. Creative sponsors and service providers include David Lawlor of Brand New Design, Ángel Luis González and Conor Lynch of SocialMedia.ie and Aileen Dempsey, DCEB Mentor.
All of the speakers offered their services free of charge.
Advisors include Dublin Tourism, Failte Ireland, John Fennell, Suzanne Maye, Lorraine Egan and Meabh Ring. Venue sponsors include European Union House, the Kilkenny Shop, National College of Ireland, the Mansion House, Woodquay Venue, Dublin City Council, Temple Bar Cultural Trust’s Culture Box , Dept. of Justice, Dublin City Libraries. Exhibition equipment sponsors are Bang & Olufsen. Food sponsors include Owen Doorly of Il Valentino and Sebastian Black of Mora Foods.
Thanks also to all the craft studios and artisans who are participating in this intiative.
