IRELAND. Aer Rianta International company The Loop has opened a new store at Dublin Airport showcasing the best of Ireland’s design and crafts.
The new Design Ireland store in Terminal 2 features a specially selected collection of work by 24 Irish design and craft brands. A range of crafted products designed and made in Ireland are offered across categories such as jewellery, ceramics, gifts, wellness, accessories and clothing.
Design Ireland (pictured above) is presented by Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), a consumer-facing collective of more than 190 individual brands selected by an independent jury for their high standards of both design and manufacture. The Loop chose 24 of these brands to feature in the new store.
Many areas of Ireland are represented, including jewellery designers Chupi from Dublin, ENIBAS from Cork and Martina Hamilton from Sligo; and fashion items from Hanna Hats of Donegal, Emblem Weavers in Wexford and Mourne Textiles in Co Down.
Other products featured in the store include candles made from all-natural ingredients from the world’s oldest candle company Rathbornes Candles, which was established in Dublin in 1488. There are also skincare and wellness products from Modern Botany, which is based in Schull in Cork, and textile artist Martina Scott from Louth offers her limited-edition Irish linen prints.
Aer Rianta International Deputy Chief Executive Anthony Kenny said the store aimed to share the best of contemporary handcrafted Irish design products with an international audience.
He said: “Design & Crafts Council Ireland and Dublin Airport have a very strong connection as both organisations contribute significantly to Ireland’s economic and cultural development, providing vital jobs across the country.
“Dublin Airport is Ireland’s gateway to the world with tens of thousands of passengers travelling through Terminal 2 every day and the Design Ireland brands will have great exposure to a wide variety of different audiences every day.”
Kenny also noted that the store was “a perfect fit” with Dublin Airport’s Sense of Place project, “which celebrates different aspects of Irish heritage at the airport to provide overseas passengers with a positive lasting impression of Ireland”.
Design & Crafts Council Ireland Market Development Director Brian McGee commented: “Through this initiative Dublin Airport will become a true flagship for Irish design. Ireland’s design is recognised the world over for creativity, heritage, and craftsmanship. The talented designers that have been selected for this innovative store are living across the land, sustaining their communities and keeping our traditions alive.
“The Design Ireland programme provides support to some of the best Irish designers and makers, helping them to enhance their capabilities and opening-up commercial opportunities to help them grow sales and employment.”
