Right now, supporting small Irish businesses is more important than ever. Here’s a round-up of some of my fave places to buy from for the upcoming gifting season!
Rotten Rouge
Rotten Rouge is a small art business that promotes sustainability and reuse, which we can see from their hand-painted upcycled jackets and their homemade cards, crafted from pages of an old Great Gatsby novel. They’ve had many themed launches but for Christmas they’re launching their biggest drop yet – a gift shop selling hand-painted tote bags, wall hangings and as well as upcycled glassware for the first time. The theme is ‘Escapism’ and all the products will have a 1920s New York art deco look. The gift shop is launching this Friday on rottenrouge.com – subscribe to the site to see a preview of the products and to be notified of when they drop!
Florence Matilda Vintage
If you’re looking for quirky unique home décor items, look no further than Florence Matilda Vintage. All of their items are hand-painted and hand-decorated and their decoupaged duck ornaments are especially popular. They also do one of a kind teabag houses – cute little house ornaments made to store teabags, coffee pods, cotton pads or anything you need! They also make candle houses, with cut out windows perfect to be lit up with candles. They also launched a line of handmade wooden robin Christmas tree decorations that sold out almost immediately. All items can be viewed and purchased on their Instagram and Facebook page: @florencematildavintage
Seoda na Mara
Seoda na Mara is a jewellery business with a difference – all of their pieces are made from recycled sea glass. These pieces of glass are all unique and shaped by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. You can get earrings and necklaces and each piece is completely one of a kind. They make each piece to your own liking, and you can choose the colour of the glass and the colour of the wire and chain, which comes in rose gold, gold, silver and bronze. You can order jewellery or just browse on their Instagram page: @seoda_na_mara
Off The Rocker
With the Christmas season almost upon us, it’s time to start thinking about sending Christmas cards to our loved ones! Off The Rocker specialises in handmade cards, which are unique and often very witty, such as their best-selling ‘Happy Birthday, you big ride’ card. As well as funny cards though, they also have a new range of heartfelt Christmas cards, available to buy individually or in bundles. They sell their cards in the Waterford shop, CC Creatives, and also on their Etsy store: www.etsy.com/ie/shop/offtherockerIE
Blank Page Art
If you’re looking to brighten up someone’s life this winter (or your own) check out Blank Page Art. They specialise in paintings with huge splashes of colour, which are available in prints from their Instagram. They also do personalised commissions, which is a thoughtful and intimate gift to get someone this Christmas. At the moment, they are also selling a limited edition A4 Charlie Chaplin print for €30, with all profits going to the Movember foundation. You can check out their work and enquire about commissions on their Instagram: @blank.pageart