I made these ceramic bells earlier this year and waited until the bluebells were in bloom down the woods before photographing them. The bells make a beautiful ring depending on the size and I think they look gorgeous displayed in nature. Prices range from €15 to €25

At last the daffodils are out…..these are the first of the year from my garden, brightening up the shop and looking great in Andy’s vase.  Andy’s work looks beautiful all on its own but introduce a few colourful flowers and its magic!

We have lots of great Easter Decorations in the shop right now,  they make great gifts that won’t  pile on the pounds….

Kids love these bunnies and they are only €2.50 each

I was told today by a customer that this is called  a  ’Japanese Easter Tree’ I love the idea of an Easter Tree…

How cute are these little egg warmer bunnies?

More lovelies from the shop……

Say you care with the cutest little heart dish……they come in this gorgeous gift box for only €10. They also make great wedding favours if you are that way inclined!

Hot from the kiln………check out my brand new ‘Buttermilk range’ of everyday tableware here. Its a soft white glaze with a slight mother of pearl tinge, the shapes are both contemporary and nostalgic. I have lived with it for the past 12 months or so and I am so  happy with the shapes and the glaze, I love it and its great mixed in with my trade mark powder blue glaze.

I love a challenge and one of the biggest to date is the transformation of an empty two storey shop unit in Kilkenny city into a beautiful styled shop full of gorgeous craft which is all designed and hand MADE in Co.Kilkenny. I think in this day and age this is pretty amazing. There are not many places anywhere, where you could get this quality of work all MADE in such a small geographical area. There was lots of hands on deck and within three evenings we got this great shop together with a beautiful exhibition upstairs. The people of Kilkenny and the surrounding areas have no excuse this Christmas…………they can support their local community of crafts people, give amazing gifts that will bring pleasure for a lifetime and it is all on their doorstep under one roof. Click here for more info.

Check out some new bits and pieces in the shop, here……..

Some bright summer displays and new stock in Rosemarie Durr Pottery this month, call in and see………..

The Wisteria is in bloom ( a large plant bought in a sale and it was supposed to be blue, when it bloomed it turned out to be white much to my disappointment, but with time I have grown to love the scent and it is thriving up against our stone wall) and I bought these gorges purple daisy’s last week, they just lift the front of the shop. The clymatis flowers didn’t last very long this year, who’d blame them, still I love the way the stems knot around each other so they are interesting all year round. I’m looking forward to the sweetpea and honeysuckle each side of the door, coming into bloom, then we will be the best smelling shop in Kilkenny ……..not to mention the prettiest.

What I want most from my garden is to have some sort of flowers or pretty foliage all year round, so I can keep a vase of fresh flowers in the shop and at home without breaking the bank. This is going to take a bit of time to get right……….at the moment things are a bit behind in the garden, with the weather so cold everything is slow to come out, the flowers above are stocks I bought. They not only look pretty in the shop but they smell beautiful. You can’t underestimate the joy a beautiful vase of flowers, brings to your day.

I could spend all day displaying stock in our shop (but don’t get the time and am never happy with the way things look) but when it comes to window displays its hard to get it right. We have beautiful big windows and I have tried different methods of using them to their full potential. I did have display boxes stacked to fill the windows, but after a recent trip to London where I saw beautiful simple window displays I’ve gone for a bit of a change this spring…….don’t know yet if its working. We’ll see.