This week we feature handmade jewellery by Naoi, prints and homewares by Urban Fabric and beautiful scarves by Lou Brennan.

Naoi 

We’ve seen lots of bold colourful jewellery at Showcase over the past few years with materials from clay to Perspex® being used to create some cool and quirky designs but Naoi strikes us as a little bit different.

The small home studio business founded by self taught creator Namintha Rajan features colourful handmade accessories that are made from wood and paper and feature distinct hand painted designs. 

Rajan says that her jewellery is “all about starting a conversation and making a statement with the use of bright and bold colours combined with organic and geometric shapes”. 

While the laser cutting of the wooden components is outsourced the decoration and assembly of the pieces is done in house by Rajan in order to maintain the great standard of each product. 

Check out the Naoi exhibitor profile where you can discover more about the brand and a process video as well as enquire about their products or set up a meeting. 

Urban Fabric 

Drawing on her background in architecture, Orla Hickey set up her art business, Urban Fabric in 2018. The artist produces colourful fine art paintings and drawings which are inspired by streetscapes and iconic Irish buildings.

Always inspired by her surroundings, and based in rural Co. Limerick, Hickey’s latest designs include a range of botanic pieces inspired by memories of time spent in her grandparents’ garden as a child. From this, she has created a lovely range of Irish Botanical Coasters featuring hand drawn illustrations of common garden flowers.

At this year’s Showcase, Orla will be showing a wide range of her framed prints of Ireland including sketches of Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher and Christ Church Cathedral as well as her new range of coasters. 

Check out the Urban Fabric exhibitor profile where you can discover more about the brand, enquire about their products or set up a meeting. 

Lou Brennan 

Lou Brennan has been a fashion and textile designer for over 20 years and has worked for some of the most prestigious brands in the business including John Rocha and Alexander McQueen.

Brennan is passionate about design and dress history and is particularly fascinated by Irish historical and vernacular clothing and craft including that of lace making and crochet. 

Brennan’s collection includes a range of luxury silk and knitted scarves including beautiful, large merino wool scarves inspired by the traditional Galway shawl, by traditional stitch patterns from Ireland and Scandinavia. Meanwhile, her paisley lace printed silk bandanas and pocket squares are delightfully different to many on the market. 

This year a key piece for the Lou Brennan brand is a scarf inspired by Irish crochet but that seeks to present it in a modern way. Inspired too by the 19th Century practice of creating printed textile designs using highly pigmented gouache paint and watercolour paper, Brenna has used her skills in painting and drawing to create a range of silk/ modal blend scarves featuring a beautiful collage print made up of geometric lines contrasted with crochet patterns and paisley designs which is available in a number of different colourways.

Check out the Lou Brennan exhibitor profile where you can discover more about the brand, enquire about their products or set up a meeting.