Edinburgh-born, Dublin-based illustrator Lynn MacPherson, who goes under the pen name Salty Philip (085-7489659 saltyphilip.com), uses pen and ink and digital illustration to create her A6 Christmas cards and limited edition A3 and A4 prints. The cards start from €3 each and cost €10 for a pack of five. The prints range in price from €5 to €35. Upon presentation of today’s column she’s offering Irish Times readers 10 per cent off her card and print collection, which can be purchased at The Loft Market (01-671 7000), second floor, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin 2, and both Jam Factory (01-616 5671) premises: Crown Alley, Temple Bar, Dublin 1, and 64 Patrick Street, Dublin 8. To avail of the discount you can also catch her this Saturday at The Ha’ Penny Market at The Grand Social, from 12 midday to 6pm, and The Christmas Cracker, Block T, Smithfield, Dublin 7, on Friday, 13th, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th of December.
TRENDING . . . DESIGNER DECORATIONS Alessi’s 2013 collection of hand-decorated blown-glass Christmas baubles will thrill contemporists who love the story of Christmas. The baubles include a set of five for €58 – sun king-like baby Jesus, Mary his mother in Madonna blue, Joseph, who sports a hipster beard and the cow and the donkey who witnessed the birth in the manger. Also in the collection are a cool-looking trio, Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior, €36 (above). Designed by Marcello Jori they are available at Brown Thomas (01-6056666 brownthomas.com), Dublin, and online at alessi.com
Nothing beats the smell of a real Christmas tree, that is until you have to deal with the moulting pine needles. Arboretum Garden Centre (059-9721558, arboretum.ie), Old Kilkenny Road, Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, is offering Irish Times readers who present today’s column 10 per cent off artificial Christmas trees including this one. This 6.5ft Dunhill fir can be bought for €134.10. Offers end Sunday, December 8th.
Make mantelpieces, windowsills and floors march to a Christmas drum with these 40cm-high Willy Wonka toy soldiers, reduced from €19.95 to €13.97 online and in Carraig Donn (carraigdonn.com) stores including the newly-opened shop in the Jervis Centre, Dublin 1.
Give tea time a festive makeover with this cool Yule confection big enough to serve six cups of brew. The 19cm by 13cm by 22cm design is normally priced €25 at Rosie Apple Interiors (rosieapple.ie 045-444518/087-6325932), a gift store set up six months ago by mumtrepreneur Jessica Kelly who quit her legal secretary job to follow her dream. Jessica is offering Irish Times readers the teapot for €15. Offer ends Sunday, December 15th, and does not include the delivery charge by courier, which is an additional €4.90. Alternatively, you can collect the tea pot from her home in Barretstown Meadows, Roseberry, Newbridge, Co Kildare.
Guadalupe Cabrera of Guadalupe Creations (087-7933817, guadalupecreations.com) hails from Cordoba in Argentina. Self-taught, she is selling her sweet hand-made Christmas tree decorations at a number of Christmas markets including Wishlist (wishlist dublin.com) at the RHA Gallery on Ely Place, Dublin 2. Visit her at her stall today and snap up these bearded Santas, which normally sell for €12. Irish Times readers can, upon presentation of today’s column, buy them for €10.80. Offer is for today only.
THREE OF THE BEST . . . CRAFTY GIFT IDEAS FOR INTERIORISTAS Locker 13’s (locker13.ie) ceramic interpretation of a Comfort fabric conditioner bottle is a lovely way to serve water or other liquids. It can also double as a vase. The design duo, childhood friends Shane Wilcon and Karl Medcalf, both studied industrial design at NCAD. The vases comes in seven mainly pastel colours and cost €70 each. Locker 13 (01- 834 9835) is based at the Malthouse Design Centre, 537 North Circular Road, Dublin 1
THREE OF THE BEST . . . CRAFTY GIFT IDEAS FOR INTERIORISTAS Jenny Walsh Design (086-8773293, jennywalsh design.com) makes functional art. Her Form follows Function clock, 30cm wide, €50, does exactly what it says on the tin. “It’s about creating a feel-good factor. The idea is to make people laugh and smile, to bring joy into their lives,” she explains. Catch her at Wishlist in the RHA Gallery, Ely Place, which runs daily until December 20th.
THREE OF THE BEST . . . CRAFTY GIFT IDEAS FOR INTERIORISTAS Give Irish Craft (giveirish craft.com) is a one-stop shop where you can discover new designers and gift their works for friends and family. Monaghan-based 31 Chapel Lane (31chapellane.com) is one of the many new creatives selected for inclusion. Based in Cootehill, it makes beautiful cushions using natural Irish linen woven in the traditional fashion in Ireland. The Isla cushion (above), 45cm square, includes a duck feather insert. See them in the flesh at Makers and Brothers pop-up shop at 5 Dame Lane, Dublin 2.
We’ve had antlers, deer, foxes and all manner of woodland creatures, so what’s next for the trendsetting homeowner? A dinosaur skull, €195, could prove to be just the Indiana Jones-style archaeological themed talking point your home needs. This authentic-looking sculpture, 49cm by 29cm by 50cm, is made in resin and mounted on a black metal pole and stand, and looks like something found on a dig. The head seen here, normally €195, is one of a selection of styles at Rowell Design (01 -5516912, rowelldesign.ie), 1 The Crescent, Donnybrook Road, Dublin 4. Irish Times readers who present today’s column will be offered 20 per cent off the entire range. Offer ends December 15th.
