Dicovery Park

The wonderfully talented stylist Eleanor Harpur has featured Andrew Ludick ceramics and a little of my own work in the last couple of issues of  House and Home magazine. The issue below was shot on location in a beautiful old cottage in the grounds of  the Discovery Park..

Some of Andys beautiful vases…..

Stacks of my plates and bowls look great in this beautiful dresser from Eclectic Interiors….

More of Andys ceramic fish and vases..

Yesterday we transformed the reception area of the Discovery Park into a Harvest wonderland……this was to mark the end of the fantastic Savour Kilkenny Food Festival.  Interior stylist Eleanor Harpur put together local craft and food to create a beautiful atmosphere for the throngs of people who came through……….

The Castlecomer Discovery Park and Craft Yard is where to go this bank holiday Monday, as part of the Savour Kilkenny festival you can see some beautifully styled tables by one of Ireland’s leading interior stylists incorporating the best of local food and craft. Be inspired with imaginative ideas for a Harvest table, a Halloween children’s table and a Christmas table. Enjoy the fruits of Samhain with a seasonal display of harvest-time fruit and vegetables and get creative (and sustainable!) for Christmas with a display of seasonal gift ideas mixing local craft and artisan food. A selection of exciting dishes will also be created in the award-winning Jarrow Café using local seasonal ingredients.

In the Discovery Park all the family can celebrate Samhain (the end of Summer) which is the second biggest festival in the Western world. It marks the turning of the Celtic Year and we are celebrating it in full. Children can look forward to face painting, storytelling and a fancy dress competition, with some surprises in store throughout the day.  The theme for the storytelling will be the traditions of Halloween relating to food including customs such as the ancient thanksgiving to the gods for the harvest after all the crops had been stored, ’souling’ much like the modern day ‘trick-or-treating’, hollowing out turnips to make the ‘Jack-o-Lanterns’, barm brack, and much much more.For information call Castlecomer Discovery Park, The Estate Yard, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, Tel 056 4440707. All events are free.

MADE in kilkenny are getting into the Savour mood by having an exhibition of tabletop craft in the National Craft Gallery. The show will run for Saturday and Sunday. You will be able to get ideas on how to mix a collection of local craft to create an unique feel to your dining table, not to be missed. For more details check out www.madeinkilkenny.ie

Along side the coal miner is his buddy Mr. dinosaur……still under construction but these photos will give you a good idea of how it looks. If you are unaware of the connection between these two you should visit the footprint in coal exhibition in the Discovery Park.

The Discovery Park is full of amazing sculptures this weekend and it will continue for the month of May. These sand sculptures are the highlight for me. I have watched mounds of sand being carved and sculpted into a miner and a dinosaur….they will not be finished until Monday so if you can make it down to the Yard to see the finishing touches, you wont be disappointed

I hope you all get your fill of eggs this weekend……the shop will be open on

Sunday from 1pm – 5pm and Monday 12pm – 5pm

so if your out in the Discovery Park for a walk, or an Alice in Wonderland Experience, call in to say hello…

Happy Easter all

These two cuties are the latest addition to the Discovery Park…..they are not in the viewing area yet but you can see lots of deer in there and I’m sure the lambs will out very soon.

We had another successful open day here on Monday. The rain didn’t come until late in the afternoon and all of the kids had a go at making a pot, creating a picture out of felt and getting their face painted………as well as all the craft taking place outside in the Yard there were also some beautiful sculptures placed around both outside and in the exhibition space, they are there for the month of August, its worth a trip.

Check out the latest issue of ‘House and Home’, these photos were styled by Eleanor Harpur here in the Estate Yard and down the woods. I love how they turned out. The chair below will look familiar, I have featured it many times in this blog (it is very photogenic). Isn’t funny how places you see everyday look so much better when photographed beautifully and put into a glossy magazine………

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I mentioned last week about the new arrivals in the Discovery Park, well here’s a brief introduction. The geese are city slickers at heart (relocated from D.S.P.C.A) but seem to be settling in just fine, they create quite a racket and I think they boss all the others around. There’s a great selection of deer, one Billy goat (don’t know where he came out of), one lonely lama, several Jacob sheep with some adorable lambs in toe and the main attraction right now are the four Vietnamese pot bellyed pigs…….aren’t they Georges? I was sort of afraid at first (my last experience with pigs was a bit scary) but they just want to sniff you out and seem to love getting their picture taken.  You can veiw them all from the viewing area in the Discovery Park and after that it’s luck who wants to come out to meet you..

Castlecomer Discovery Park   is such a beautiful place to go for a stroll. If you haven’t been all ready then get yourself down here over the Easter break and discover it for yourself. There’s the added advantage of the playground, footprints in coal exhibition,  Jarrow Cafe and of course the fab craft studios and shops. Make a day of it……….