For many years, Stuart Foster has experienced different environments such as agriculture, property restoration and industrial manufacturing and in various ways each activity made him more aware of the impact everyone has on nature and how it is treated.
He started making soap in order to help his grandson with his skin condition and luckily his creations paid off - the soap brought great relief to his grandson's skin. The handmade soaps are made using pure Achill Spring Water, organic or fair trade vegetable and essential oils. They use techniques of the ancient crafts which have been tried and tested over millennia.
To find out more about Stuarts' work, visit: www.achillpure.weebly.com
Cleo was established in 1936 as a very small retail outlet in Dublin, selling only handknit sweaters from Aran Islands. Since then they have expanded their business and they now sell handknit sweaters in a variety of styles and colours for men, women and children as well as coats, capes, linen blouses, shirts, hats, bags, socks and a lot more.
All the pieces are made from natural Irish fibres such as wool, linen and tweed and are handknitted by artisans and craftspeople living in Ireland.
For more information, visit: www.irishclothing.ie
Janice Byrne is a Dublin based goldsmith and jewellery designer who creates contemporary jewellery inspired by found natural objects.
Her jewellery is designed to highlight the simple beauty of natural forms. Her goal is to translate the hidden detail in natural objects into metal.
Inspired by the beauty and delicacy of some seed pods, she designed her new collection Caillte - which means 'lost' in Irish.
To find out more, visit: www.jlbjewellery.ie
Vivien Walsh is an Irish jewellery designer from Monkstown, Dublin who creates contemporary fashion jewellery using semi-precious stones, crystals, delicate filigree stampings, pearls, glass beads and fine chains collected from all around the world. Vivien's inspiration comes from the world around her - whether it's nature, art or objects, it's all very influential to her.
To find out more about Vivien and her collection, visit: www.vivienwalsh.com
Merle O'Grady is an Irish jewellery designer whose work can be seen in numerous high-fashion magazines such as Elle and Vogue and on some famous celebrities such as Rihanna and Beyonce.
When Merle graduated from Fashion Design in Limerick School of Art & Design, she decided to move to London in 2004 to study Accessory Design at Cordwainers College. Her journey into jewellery design began by chance, when she discovered a bucket of chandelier crystal from the 1800's and started experimenting. She is obsessed with futuristic styling and industrial materials.
She launched her S/S jewellery line at the London Fashion Week in 2010.
For more information, visit: www.merleogrady.com
