Children concentrate, open-mouthed, on the task of sinking star-shaped cutters into bright, molten strips of wax. They are learning how to make candles, at the Knot-in-the-Wick stall run by Siegfried Muller-Tolk of Sneem in Co Kerry.
The finished candles on sale make a vivid display, complete with hissing cobras, amiable octopi, flaming orchids, braided candles, pillar candles, tall marbled candles - all exuding the mingled scents of rosemary, orange, cinnamon, lavender and peppermint (price range: £2.50£25).
This is just one of the many displays to be found at the National Crafts Fair of Ireland which opens at 10 a.m. today in the RDS. A welter of colourful, quirky and elegant work by more than 300 exhibitors in Dublin until Sunday - many of who exhibited at the Belfast Craft Fair earlier this month - will include silks, linens, knitwear, pottery, ceramics, glass, jewellery, furniture and toys. One of the big trends in the crafts world is the move towards recycling. Matthew Fisher of the
Wizard Tree Wood-Turning Company, who lives in Clare, uses wood salvaged from "forests and hedgerows" to make his distinctive bowls and mushrooms. His mushrooms are made from spalted beech with elm stems and the largest, an astonishing 30 inches tall and 28 inches in diameter, costs £500 (the small ones are as little as £15). He also uses wood salvaged from the sea: "I learned my trade in Cornwall, and I still have contacts there who salvage wood from shipwrecks." He has made a magnificent "flying bowl" (£750) made of opepe, which stands on ebony legs. Both the opepe wood and the ebony were salvaged from ships which sank on their way back from West Africa.
Chris Killalea of Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, is of the same school of thought: "Recycling is very `in' at the moment," he says. The pieces he makes for his company, Brite Lite, are all from recycled materials, ranging from old farm implements such as ploughs, to pieces of gas cylinders and bits of rotary mowers. He also makes earrings and brooches (£5-£10) out of copper hot water cylinders.
Meanwhile, Lorsha Design has a tempting display of scarves in silks and velvets, gorgeous in the truest sense. Colours range from purple to green and gold. Most magnificent is a scarf in velvet devoree with tassels, in midnight blue, violet and green, with painted gold leaves and rushes (£120).
Lorsha comprises a two-woman team, Loretta Gallagher and Sharon Sloan, who run their business in Newry. There are ties for £30, framed pictures for £12, and a huge range of scarves ranging in price from £20 to £200. Customers include well-known names such as Mary Robinson, Mo Mowlam and John Major.
For those in search of something simpler, Fran Ryan of Dingle Linens offers a lovely, plain oyster-coloured shirt with a concealed front for £45 and an overblouse with side slits and shell buttons in oyster and stone (£55). There is a beautiful linen and cotton mix knitted suit, with a crew-neck, long-sleeved top, complete with crochet detail on the end, cuffs and neck, a pencil skirt and long sleeveless waistcoat (£230). Fran's assistant, Joanne O'Mahoney, makes a mix of wool, lurex and silk, resulting in a lively twopiece in gold, orange and lime green. The pants and halter-neck top cost £150.
For outdoorsy types, there are chunky roll-neck sweaters by (of Roundwood, Co Wicklow) in a range of colours, including oatmeal, biscuit and warm red (price range £59-£75).
Winner of a "Craft in Wood" prize from Coillte recently, Robert English
has a gate leg, drop-leaf circular table in Irish elm (£950), with simple lines. His minimalist chairs with lumbar support backs are £225 each. Gift options for either children or adults, Irish Wildlife Mobiles,
designed and handmade by Ben and Bridie Brittain in Co Waterford, are colourful and educational, and come in a range of sizes. You can buy single pieces - brightly coloured birds, otters, pigs and hedgehogs, each with its own explanatory history - for £3.95, or larger models, such as the butterflies of Ireland, a 10-piece mobile for £39.
The temptations continue: Gerry Pullman of Dublin makes furniture in metal and wood. He offers an ornate black steel Beardsleyesque chaise longue with a rose twining around the arm rest and a man climbing up one of the legs (£500). In a completely different mood, he has a huge, hand-forged Gothic-style candlestick, holding 11 candles, for £300 (the hanging sword is £60). There are smaller candlesticks and bookends for £20.
Gifts to satisfy other appetites are available from the West Cork Herb Farm stall, where your tastebuds will tingle as you sample goodies made from fresh herbs and spices, such as geranium jelly, tarragon mustard, ginger oil and five herb marinade. The herbs are all grown organically. Presentation baskets range in price from £7.50 to £10 and can be made to order.
Smoked salmon with a difference can be had at the Aran Crafts/ Damhlann Chill Mhuirbhigh stall. Gearoid de Brun smokes wild salmon in the traditional fashion producing a variety of flavours: oak smoked, peat smoked, apple-wood smoked and hickory smoked. "It's nice with a good single malt whiskey." he jokes. A full side of salmon costs £20, a half side £11. ia Arann offers a range of gifts set in distinctive grey and white Aran limestone, either polished or unpolished. There are candle-holders at £15, clocks and barometres at £25£45, lamps at £20£45, and bookends at £30-£40. Christmas decorations, including those made by Joan Dobey of Newbridge, Co Kildare and Orla Nolan of Dublin, are here too in abundance - just in case you haven't the house adequately betinsled by now.
The National Crafts Fair of Ireland is at the RDS from today until Sunday. Opening hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday to Friday and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is £4, concession £2, children free.
