Hundreds of new jobs are expected to be created in the crafts industry as a result of a trade fair in Dublin later this month. Details of Showcase Ireland, staged annually at the RDS by the Crafts Council of Ireland, were announced yesterday.
Last year the four-day event took in orders worth £24 million compared with £17 million in 1996.
According to Mr Gerry Murphy, whose company, Eurofairs Ltd, organises the event on behalf of the Crafts Council, almost 3,000 jobs were created by exhibiting companies as a direct result of the fair during the past four years. In 1997 these positions included 275 full-time jobs, 214 part-time ones and 307 outworkers.
A shop window for the best in Irish craft and design, Showcase Ireland began in 1977 and has grown steadily ever since. This year a temporary craft village will feature 100 of Ireland's most talented and creative designers, whose work has been recognised by the Crafts Council for its high quality.
In addition, there will be an extensive hall showing classical Irish fashion and knitwear and a section devoted to new faces making their first appearance at the RDS.
The fair, which runs from January 18th to 21st, will attract more than 660 exhibitors from Northern Ireland and the Republic. As most participants return annually, Mr Murphy says there is now a waiting list of more than 200 organisations wishing to take stands at the fair. "We could do with at least 20 per cent more space as a lot of our current exhibitors are also looking for extra room."
Now the biggest such trade fair in Ireland, Showcase is expected to attract about 11,000 buyers, with 1,600 of these coming from 23 foreign countries. The main overseas attendance is from the UK, followed by continental Europe, the US, Australia and Japan. The fair's organisers predict that buyer attendance will be 6 per cent higher than last year.
The council will have its own information desk at the fair and will be offering access to the Media Store, a detailed computerised listing of 125 crafts businesses in Ireland. Entrants to this are selected by a Crafts Council-appointed jury.