“After two years of straight lines and concrete in the Netherlands I needed to get back to big skies, mental weather and proper wilderness,” says Ashleigh Smith, founder of the Atlantic Equipment Project in Sligo, makers of hardwearing carry equipment. An industrial designer who grew up by the sea, Smith was determined to find a way of living and working in Sligo.

Her "carry equipment" – rolltop waxed cotton backpacks, canvas and cord satchels finished with cotton webbing, cast brass sliders and D rings are durable and good looking. Prices range from €80 to €125. See
atlanticequipmentproject.com or Irish Design Shop, Drury St, Dublin. Deirdre McQuillan