CONGRATULATIONS to Aine and Tarlach de Blacam of knitwear company Inis Meain, who last Saturday afternoon threw a party on the island where they live and from which their business takes its name. The reasons for this occasion were several to celebrate Inis Meain's 21st birthday, to mark the appearance of a new collection for next autumn/winter and its portrayal by artist Nigel Rolfe, to delight in a visit by author Tim Robinson and to allow guests to inspect the refurbished shop attached to their factory.

While Inis Meain has had a local outlet for some time, until now this tended to carry only end of lines and seconds, in addition to doubling as a local museum. The premises now has shelves from one gable end to the other and is the only shop in this country which offers customers the full range of Inis Meain knits. The theme for the latest collection is taken from Tim Robinson's Listening To The Landscape; "a closewoven web covering the bare landscape, this rehearsal of lore, a warm and comforting cloak of familiarity, the land pulled around itself against the cold."

AS interpreted by the de Blacams, this means new technology stretch fabrics in untraditional shapes but rich natural shades such as teal, lichen, moss, duckegg, wild strawberry and sloe. In turn, the designs have been photographed by Nigel Rolfe for a presentation first shown at the menswear collections earlier this year in Florence and Paris. Inis Meain will be showing these images again in Tokyo and Yokohama next October. But for the full experience, a visit to the island of Inis Meain itself is definitely, recommended.