Inside artist Laura de Búrca's Dublin studio

Dublin artist Laura de Búrca's work is mesmerising and evocative. I love her use of colour, her attention to detail and the way she can capture a precious moment of shifting light. Three of her pieces hang on my walls.

We attended the same school and recently bumped into each other in our local park, the War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge. The NCAD graduate warmly welcomed me to her Thomas Street studio recently, which was a real visual treat.

Laura is currently working on a book about her father's family's orchard in the countryside near Tuam, Co. Galway. Poring over newspaper archives to find details of its prize-winning country fair entries and studying the people and the place in black and white photographs, she has been inspired to create a series of beautiful illustrations for the book, from the ivy-clad frontage of her grandparents' home to detailed studies of fruit and foliage.

Like sunlight breaking through the trees, she breathes vibrancy and light into the still-life studies of the apples and other fruit grown on the orchard. Her research has also shed light on Irish varieties that have since been replaced on shop shelves by imported fruit.

On Laura's desk (formerly owned by an architect and picked up for a song on a recycling website), my eye was instantly drawn by a series of tropical birds. The inspired choice of canvas? Paint sample tiles rescued from a skip outside the nearby Farrow & Ball showroom on Cornmarket. The English paint company is renowned for its range of high quality heritage colours, and I love how Laura has found a new use for her find. Red tags from a vintage label maker proudly describes the rather unusual breeds of bird, such as Candy Plumed Sundove (below), that she has brought to life.

Photos relating to Laura's painstaking research of the orchard also hang on the walls.

In every corner of the studio, creativity blooms. Laura, who has worked as an artist facilitator and workshop devisor with The Ark, a children's cultural centre in Temple Bar, made the leafy paper garland for a friend's wedding from old paper. She can also turn her hand to lifelike flowers, as pictured on top of a table she recently volunteered to upcycle for Oxfamhome on Francis Street, the subject of a blog post I wrote for the Oxfam Ireland website.

See Laura’s work on http://fawnchorus.tumblr.com and www.flickr.com/photos/lauradeb. She also blogs about colours on http://coloursnames.blogspot.com

The blog post about the table she upcycled for Oxfamhome is 

http://www.oxfamireland.org/blog/2012/04/04/how-to-upcycle-second-hand-furniture-from-oxfamhome/

Dublin's Creative Quarter: A capital idea

Back in the rare 'aul times, Dublin was made up of designated city trade quarters all but forgotten today, save for street names such as Fishamble Street, Copper Alley and Winetavern Street.

Today, there's the newish Italian quarter built on the north quays by Mick Wallace and a long-standing Antique Quarter on Francis Street in the west inner city, while Temple Bar is the Cultural Quarter.

Now the area around South Great George's Street and South William Street will be designated the Creative Quarter. The Dublin City Business Improvement District (BID) is behind the move and describe the area as "a hub of innovation which hosts an exceptional array of designer boutiques, creative businesses and plenty more".

ARCADE ADMIRE: The beautiful facade of the George's Street Arcade, now part of the city's Creative Quarter, as designated by the Dublin City Business Improvement District. Image: Alison Cornford-Matheson/Dreamtimes

HUB OF CREATIVITY: South Great George's Street (the red A balloon) and South William Street to the right. Image: Google Maps

Among the design businesses in the Creative District are Designist (68 South Great George's Street, next door to Brasserie Sixty6) and Article, which has just moved into a stunning new space on the ground floor of the Powerscourt Centre, South William Street. The area has attracted a number of independent businesses, from deli and bakery Lolly and Cooks in Victorian wonder George's Street Arcade, to the recently opened Irish fashion store Blind Tiger Collective, featured previously on Mo Theach, on South William Street.

I LIKE MY TEA TWEET: #LoveDublin mugs designed by Designist.ie, a store in Dublin's newly designated Creative Quarter, as part of a collaboration with Le Cool Dublin. The mugs are inspired by tweets under #LoveDublin and designed by Donal Thornton. There are three mugs (€10 each) to choose from, 'Walk of Shame', 'Mix Tweets' and 'Mug of Tea'. 

According to BID, this area was once Dublin's original garment district, where specialist design thrived. Fashionistas of the 18th century flocked to these furriers, dress-makers, glove-makers and couture coat manufacturers.

A number of events, part of the St. Patrick's Festival, are taking place tomorrow, Friday March 16th, to launch the Creative District. These include the launch of Project A Apparel as part of the Blind Tiger Collective (12pm-2pm) and a lecture by fashion historian Ruth Griffin on local fashion history in Om Diva Boutique on Drury Street (6pm).

One I'd love to go is Scribble Dublin at the Designist store at 68 South Great George's Street (6pm-8pm) featuring Irish company Klickity's scribble frames. Mark Flood (see his work on David Mc William's Punk Economics videos) will be on illustrator duties, designs from other top illustrators will be auctioned and there will be a gigantic version of Klickity's scribble frame to get your picture taken in.

CITY SCRIBB': Poster for tomorrow's Scribble Dublin event at Designist on South Great George's Street. Image: Designist.ie

Other events (taking place between 6pm and 8pm) are a celebration of Irish food to be held in Fallon and Byrne and a 'Meet the Designers' evening as part of the festival of Irish Design featuring Project 51 in association with the Crafts Council of Ireland. Designers include Geraldine Murphy of Saba Jewellery.

I'd love to see more designated districts in Dublin. Some ideas related to my local area include:

The Brewery Quarter: The Guinness Storehouse is among the most visited tourist attractions in the country, yet the surrounding streets are dead and many buildings derelict. The area already has lots to offer in the form of the Digital Hub, NCAD, Vicar Street, local businesses such as Manning's Bakery and the newly-opened Arthur's. It would be great to see the huge Georgian buildings on James Street currently up for let occupied and the old Victorian market buildings in the area rescued from decay.

A BREW LEASE OF LIFE? The old Guinness windmill, now surrounded by the Digital Hub on James' Street. It would be great to see a Brewery Quarter developed for tourists and locals alike.

STEP BACK INTO TIME: Kilmainham Gaol, a must-see Dublin visiter attraction. If you're walking from the Guinness Storehouse, don't expect clear signage to help you find it.

The Gaol/Military Quarter: Hundreds of tourists walk each day from the Guinness Storehouse to Kilmainham Gaol, often missing the small sign for the turn at Bow Lane, and walking past St. James' Hospital and often up into Inchicore, as there is no sign for the Gaol at the junction of Old Kilmainham and South Circular Road. (The most scenic route is to walk down James' Street, then at the triangle in the centre of the road, take the road in the middle, Bow Lane West, which continues onto Kilmainham Lane, then it's at the top of this road).

Kilmainham also has the Irish Museum of Modern Art at the Royal Hospital and the War Memorial Gardens, along with Clancy Barracks (part of a late Celtic Tiger development site and currently being used as a filming location). It would be great to see the area more geared to tourists, with perhaps a special trail like they have in Boston, from the Brewery Quarter, for example.

Check out:
My Pinterest Board: I heart Dublin

Related posts:
Eye of the Tiger: Irish clothing brands open store
City slickers: Dublin-inspired design
A Quarter Compounder: Proposed Asian Quarter on Parnell Street

Come fly with me: Retro Aer Lingus travel posters

Vintage travel posters depict a time when air fares were beyond the means of ordinary people, and a trip to Dublin Airport was a holiday in itself (I hear it was a popular spot for a date back in the day!).

Judging by the number of people who land on a post I did about the two Aer Lingus Boeing 747s (it's the most viewed post ever on Mo Theach), there is a huge interest in the early days of what was once also known as Irish International Airlines.

CALENDAR GIRL: I bought this 1960 Irish Air Lines pocket calendar on eBay a while back. I love the red-haired air hostess. A real spéirbhean!

I like to keep an eye on eBay for old bits and pieces relating to the airline, such as the purchase above. The beautifully-designed travel advertisements of old always attract my attention and I picked up this vintage Aer Lingus poster at an exhibition a year or two ago at the National Museum at Collin's Barracks. This image was used in much of Aer Lingus' publicity materials and depicts the luxury and style associated with flying at the time. The fact that it's in French makes it seem even more exotic.

OOH LA LA LANDING SHORTLY: I picked up this Aer Lingus poster (circa 1960) believed to be the work of Jarlath Hayes (who designed the harp that is on Irish Euro coins) from the shop at the National Museum of Ireland, Collin's Barracks. It costs €8 and fits into off-the-shelf frames. 

Aer Lingus tapped into the nostalgia that surrounds their brand as they celebrated their 75th anniversary last year, painting a brand new Airbus A320 in the old Irish International Airlines livery. They also raided the wardrobes to show how the stewardess (and steward) uniforms have changed over the years.

RETRO JET: Aer Lingus painted this new Airbus A320 in the old white and dark green livery last year to celebrate their 75th anniversary. Image via JetPhotos.net

HIGH FASHION: With the beautiful old Dublin Airport terminal building in the background, air stewards model the cabin crew look though the years to mark Aer Lingus' 75th anniversary in 2011.
Image by Aer Lingus and via Airlines and Destinations

TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME: This nostalgia fest video features the highlights of Aer Lingus's 75-year history (JKF and Pope John Paul II are among the passengers), with lots of shots of those two 747s here! It's a bit like watching that old ESB 'Coming Home for Christmas' ad.

Here are some of my favourite old Aer Lingus posters (very few have modern reproductions, so you'll have to fork out for an original copy in many cases):

SKY'S THE LIMIT: This reprint of a New York-bound Aer Lingus poster is available from AllPosters.ie for €18.99.

TURBO-CHARGE: This poster is on the Onslows Posters website which is unfortunately down for maintenance at the moment so I don't have any further details. Image: Onslows Posters

POSTCARD PERFECT: Ireland looks particularly stunning in this poster, also from Onslows Posters.

LOTS OF LEG ROOM: This is one my all-time favourite adverts. An original poster (circa 1958) by John Banbridge costs £780 from OriginalTravelPosters.com.  Image via OriginalTravelPosters.com 

PRETTY CITY: Dublin's quays like you've never seen them before (I love the smoke coming from all the chimneys). This 1956 poster by Dutch artist Guus Melai did not meet with approval, according to archive research carried out by the Arts Council. Interesting read.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN CALLING: Step aside, stewardesses! This handsome captain makes an appearance on a vintage poster sold in 2009 by Christie's.

STEP THIS WAY, SIR: Ease of travel is the message here, perhaps aimed at travellers coming from the UK, or the US.  Poster also from Onslows Posters.

MOUNTAIN AER: This original 1950 Aer Lingus poster by Negus Sharland advertising its routes to Zurich is for sale for approx €285 from PosterTeam.com

GATEWAY TO THE WORLD: This 1950 poster appears to show two Viscounts waiting at the original terminal building at Dublin Airport. Image via iCollector.com

There are lots more vintage Aer Lingus posters which I hope to share in another post soon!

Eye of the Tiger: Irish clothing brands open store

I prefer to leave fashion blogging to those in the know, but am always keen to promote Irish design initiatives like the new Blind Tiger Collective store. It's opening its doors this Saturday in Dublin city centre.

Set up by Irish streetwear brands to offer an alternative to multinational chain stores, the collective hope their new store in the Georgian gorgeousness of South William Street will help efforts to make this side of Grafton Street a fashion hub destination.

RWAAR: The Blind Tiger Collective is catwalk cool. I heart the stag t-shirt.

Describing why Blind Tiger Collective came about, Dualta Jones (organiser and co-owner of Project A Apparel) said: "I decided that small Irish brands like my own need to come together and help promote each other in a joint effort and stake a claim on our territory."

GRRR-EAT IDEA: Tony the tiger gets a makeover in this t-shirt from The Blind Tiger Collective, a group of Irish streetwear brands

Following on from their pop-up shop in December (see the timelapse video here), the brands at Blind Tiger Collective include Turtlehead, LadyUmbrella, ShittyFuture and Little Green Threads, many of whom create very limited print runs as low as 25 pieces.

It's brilliant to see this showcase of Irish design hitting the city centre. Go n-éirí leo.

The Blind Tiger Collective, 51 William Street, Dublin 2. 
twitter.com/weareblindtiger

City slickers: Dublin-inspired design

Back in my newspaper days, I met Andy Mac Manus, a very talented Irish graphic designer and artist who is now based in London.

At the time, he had painstakingly created a 360 degree view of Dublin's O'Connell Bridge and I was so taken with it that he printed off a section of it (my walls couldn't fit the whole thing!). 

ART CAPITAL: Two prints from Andy Mac Manus's Panoramic Dublin feature an extremely detailed view of O'Connell Bridge and hang in my living room

Andy, who last month completed a masters in graphic design at the London College of Communication, gave me a choice of two and I couldn't decide, so I took both!

I am obsessed with all things Dublin and the Panoramic Dublin prints take pride of place in my sitting room. You can see some of Andy other's work and the original Panoramic Dublin on his website, http://cargocollective.com/andymacmanus.

Here's a selection of other Dublin-inspired beauties:

SKY DRAPER: The view of the Liffey from the Ha'penny bridge onwards in this Dublin skyline print (approx €16.12 plus delivery) by Etsy shop birdAve is available in custom colours. Designed to fit into the IKEA Ribba 8" by 10" frame.

SITTING PRETTY IN THE CITY: Inspired by the city's Georgian architecture, this lovely digitally printed Dublin cushion designed by Zoe Beck (approx €60 plus delivery) is available from the Hidden Art shop.

TREE HOUSE: Turned into a 'tree towel' after it became the most popular print from their Eight Tree Exhibition, the Dublin 8 Tree Towel by Red Dog the Store has been reduced from €18 to €14.88. 

DRY ME A RIVER: This romantic Dublin Love gocco print (approx €12.09 plus delivery) is by artsharkdesigns on Etsy

PUB TRAWL: Marketed as a gift for your man on St. Valentine's Day, this typographical representation of Dublin's pubs and landmarks by Bates Mercantile Co on Etsy costs approx €5.60 for a printable PDF

STOP THE LIGHTS: This stunning laser cut map of Dublin is a feast for the eyes and was created by Dublin-based design company Alljoy. It costs €48 and is available from the Irish Design Store.

WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK (CAKE) AND ROLL: The Map of Dublin tea towel (€6.75 and made from organic cotton) is one of many design treats available from The Cake Café

CITY GUIDE: The gorgeous Dublin Landmarks notebook by Ursula Celano is made in our capital city and the landmarks featured include the Pigeon House, Liberty Hall and the Ha'penny Bridge. It costs €9.95 and is available from Ursula Celono or from Article, Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin 2. Thanks for getting this for me, Nathalie!

TOTE-ALLY DUBLIN: Part of a range of Dublin-themed products designed by Designist in collaboration with Le Cool Dublin, this 100% cotton Love Dublin tote bag (€8.50) features tweets that trended on a particular day in 2011 which demonstrate why we Dubliners love our city.