The jewellery designer is under pressure. No, Melissa Curry can't talk to anyone. The price-tags have yet to be put on the bangles, pendants, necklaces, rings and earrings - and the guests are arriving for her exhibition at No 5 restaurant off Merrion Row. Yikes!
Tom Kelly, a producer with the RTE series, Nationwide, watches it all unfold, calm and dignified amid the bustle. A philosopher, he turned 40 recently and wants to talk only in Irish. "Suigh sios agus lig do scith," he says. "Ta na Gaeilgoiri anseo."
Another oasis of calm is actress Alex Fay, ultra chic in a satin mochacoloured Dolce & Gabbana dress. "Can I help with anything?" she offers. Suzie Shorten, Melissa's friend, explains that the designer herself has just returned from Paris where her new collection caused a sensation. Her work is available in a number of Dublin outlets including Temple Bar's Design Yard - not to mention Barney's in New York, Galleria Lafayette in Paris and Onward in Tokyo.