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Weathering: An Exhibition of Irish Craft and Design

Weathering, a curation by the Crafts Council of Ireland at Tent London, was one of the highlights of the London Design Festival this year. And seeing Joe Hogan hand weave his baskets live at the show was one of the highlights of Weathering. Joe has been making baskets at Loch na Fooey in Ireland since 1978.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

Chalet by Woodenleg provided a welcome pop of color in an exhibition otherwise populated by the handmade hues of wood. Woodenleg is designers Robert Skoczylas and Anna Strzelecka.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

The Brace Chair by architects Tierney Haines is made from Irish oak and Finnish bleached and limed oak. Each chair is handmade to order.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

Designer and woodworker James Carroll, aka Stickman, creates handcrafted furniture pieces from his workshop in the Wicklow mountains. This is the Wedge Bench.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

These Woodturned Pepper Mills are by Matt Jones for online craft retailer Makers & Brothers. Matt Jones is originally from Pembrokeshire in Wales, trained as an artist in London and has traveled the world as a professional musician. He has been turning wood since be moved to Ireland to renovate a former outbuilding into a home for himself, his wife, and his four children.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

The wooden salad bowls by Glenn Lucas are turned by hand from Irish native wood.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

These little jewlery boxes are made from birch with a walnut inlay by Cillian Ó Súilleabháin, a furniture designer and maker, working exclusively in wood, based in Co. Carlow, Ireland.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

Shane Holland is the man behind the Wilde Cage Light, made from copper plated steel and red braided cord. I love the way they suggest the form of a lightshade without obscuring the bulb.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

The fabulous geometric blue and white fabric underneath is by Caroline Ryan, a member of Dublin’s studio collective, Print Block.

Crafts Council of Ireland Tent London LDF14

And finally, another pop of color from Andrew Ludick’s white earthenware collection, decorated with colored slips and a clear glaze.

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.