Crafty Bootcamps and more Sessions!

Crafty Bootcamp: felting a book cover

Today we begin our Crafty Bootcamps for 10-15 year olds.  Craft in Kerry works to promote handmade traditions and so this is part of that effort--start the future makers on the right track!  We are starting at 10am and going until 130pm and they will start with an overview on colour and dyeing and then get stuck into dyeing their own wool yarns and cloth for patchwork.  Don't worry, I've pre-mixed the dyes so that we aren't doing anything dangerous with them!  They will felt and do a bit of drawing today and that should be it for today.  For the rest of the week: felting an item of their choice (book cover or phone cover usually), learning to stitch on their sample felt piece, cut fabric and make a patchwork sampler, and learn to crochet.  Their brains will be full!


This week's Handmade Sessions:  


Monday, upcycling clothing: learn to customize and recycle clothing for great fashion flair!  Andrea will show you how to get started.  Please bring an item of clothing that you want to change and we will provide the rest! 


Tuesday, wood carving: John will teach you the basics of wood carving and how to handle carving tools.  He has been teaching over 20 years and is chairperson of the Kerry Wood Turners guild.  


Wednesday, knitting: Learn to knit from the beginning or just pick up some new pattern ideas.  Vicki knits for a professional co-operative and can show you how to finish a garment to perfection.


Thursday, felting: Sharon has been felting for six years and will introduce you to the magic of creating your own cloth.  With beautifully, soft Merino wool and soap and water, you can make your own fabric and products.  We will learn basic felting and then learn to felt a book cover or scarf.


Friday, crochet. Learn the basic stitches of crochet and 


For more information, please ring 087-9111793.  Pre-booking is essential.  Also, we will have a weaving Session with Mairead Sharry on Friday, July 22nd and a spinning Session on Friday, July 29th.  Mairead is fantastic with the traditional crafts and is also quite good at rushwork/basketmaking.  Give us a ring if you want to take part in her fantastic Session!

Is This Summer???

Learn to felt and make personally designed book covers

Okay, I am freezing!  The weather, for the month of May, is as damp and miserable as March.  Luckily, I have plenty of indoor work to do to get the Handmade Sessions up and running.  We are looking at June 13th for the launch and June 14th as the first day to take part in the Sessions.

I have set up a calendar on the blog to showcase our Session offerings. So far, we will be teaching wood carving, felting, dyeing, creative embroidery, up-cycling clothing, knitting, crochet, and jewellery. This list is not exhaustive as we will be adding more workshops over the summer and we do have many members of Craft in Kerry that teach in their own studio, so if you have a request please do get in touch and we can assist you in organizing the workshop of your dreams.  You can try your hand at felting or up-cycling clothing and your partner can make a bespoke greenwood chair.  Click on the day on the calendar and it will highlight the day's Session.

The venue is nearly ready and we will soon be furnishing the interior. Please do come by and see us in Dingle, Co Kerry on John St on Monday, June 13th and try your hand at carving or felting or knitting on the day. We will be there, rain or shine, from 4-8pm.  

For more information or for booking in advance, please email handmadesessions@hotmail.com or ring 011-353-87-9111793.  We do prefer to have people book in advance as materials are included in the price of €35 per Session and it will help us not only secure your space, but also ensure there are enough materials.

Nuts and bolts

• €35 per Session per person, materials included
• Workshops will be 2-6pm, but do check the calendar to confirm times as they may vary throughout the summer
• Venue is on John St in Dingle town, an 8 minute walk from the Tourist Office
• There is parking just above us on the right in the old secondary School (CBS) and it will accommodate a large van or bus.
• Most Sessions are geared towards beginner level, so don't panic about being in over your head.  If you already have basic knowledge, then your instructor will work with you to develop a more challenging project for your time here.
• Some materials may be for sale by the instructors to get you started in new projects as Dingle would not have supplies easily available.  Just ask when you register.
• There are two fantastic restaurants across the street from us (The Half Door and Doyle's Seafood Restaurant), so you can continue your wonderful Dingle artisan experience!

Instructors

John Murphy                   Wood Carving

Ann Moore                     Creative Embroidery/Up-cycling

Sharon Crandall               Felting/Dyeing/Crochet

Kathleen Flannery            Knitting/Jewellery

Ann Moore's creative embroidery

Craft Fairs and Handmade Sessions

Linda  Hannafin's ceramics and Karen
Flannery's jewellery and hats

Easter seemed to come and go in a blur this year, with so many crafts activities on the go.  Craft in Kerry had it's first crafts showcase at An Díseart in Dingle, Co Kerry.  Exhibiting the best of handmade Kerry crafts, there was a great turnout and even better weather.  Perhaps TOO GOOD, as many customers ventured down to the waterside for lunch that afternoon and didn't make it back up!  Many thanks to all our talented artisans and new customers for coming on board.

Nationwide was there filming us on the day and it should air on Wednesday, May 4 at 7pm. They were all over the place filming, so we just have to wait and see what the final edit ends up looking like.  Many thanks to them for their time and great promotion--they have been so good to the Year of Craft!

Watch this space for information on more Craft in Kerry events.

Garry Marcham preparing his greenwood chairs.  Garry will
be teaching as part of the Handmade Sessions.

Our focus is now shifting to our new Handmade Sessions. We will be teaching half-day workshop sessions (10-1pm and 2-6pm) in a wide variety of crafts in Dingle, County Kerry. Your 4 hour session will include materials, instruction, and a fine Kerry welcome! Workshop offerings include traditional Irish knitting, Irish crocheted lace, woodcarving, jewellery, creative embroidery, felting, dyeing, and more. Customized workshops available on request, as well as longer sessions. Please contact handmadesessions@hotmail.com for more information.

Debbie McCarthy and Dawn Thomas' exhibition at the
Craft in Kerry craft fair last Friday.

Our next member focus is Dawn Thomas.  Dawn hand knits and crochets beautiful adult and children's wear from her base in North Kerry.  Specialising in custom-made wearables, Dawn makes hats, cardigans, blankets, and more to cater to almost any occasion.  Using a wide variety of patterns and  yarns, she is kept busy on the craft fair market sharing space with Debbie McCarthy.  They will be exhibiting at the craft fair in Killarney May 28 and at many fairs around Kerry.  

You can find more information about all Craft in Kerry members on our Facebook page or email sharon1_crandall@hotmail.com.  New members welcome, but produce must be handmade in Kerry.

Dawn Thomas' beautiful hand-crocheted girl's tunic dress

Radio Kerry and Another Talented Artisan...

Craft in Kerry had the fantastic opportunity to be interviewed live on Radio Kerry with Weeshie Fogarty last Wednesday evening.  It was part of his "In Conversations with..." show from 6-7pm and Weeshie proved to be an able and easy-going host.  Any early nerves were put aside when he started talking.  It was like having a cuppa and a chat.  We got a chance to talk about our own crafts, the upcoming craft fair April 29th in Dingle, and how all our products are handmade in Kerry FOR Kerry.  If you buy Kerry products, you create and preserve Kerry jobs.

Soft furnishings from Dragonfly Cottage

We will put a digital copy of the interview up when we get it.  In the meantime, a group of us are off to Dublin tomorrow to promote Craft in Kerry to tour operators.  It's a chance to sound out tour guides and see how well our Handmade Sessions go over.  We will be demonstrating our crafts and talking up craft to almost 300 vendors.  We will be busy!  Stay tuned for news about that shindig when we are back.

If you’re looking for something different to accent your home, or a unique gift, Dragonfly Cottage offers a range of bespoke interiors.  Anything from throw cushions, aprons, sachets and wine gift bags which are all handmade at Callan Farm, located in Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry.

Lot's of Good Things in Kerry...

Bracelet by Alison Walsh, silver and turquoise

We are turning the corner into better things, I can tell!  Craft in Kerry is going from strength to strength.  We are 46 members strong in just the two months (even if everyone isn't paid up yet!) and we are on the way to getting our marketing materials ready.  Once we have that done and the banner for public events, then we will be flying as those are jobs that are generally done as needed.  I am checking out our insurance quote through Craft Council of Ireland and so we will be ready for public events by the end of April.


We have an opportunity to mix and mingle with over 200 international tour operators in Dublin for a part of the Meitheal program that is run every year by Failte Ireland.  It's a 2 day affair, but if we go up for April 4th and do the evening social and demonstrate what our unique (ahem!) tourist opportunity is and really add an entertainment factor, then we can hopefully convince some of these tour operators to buy into crafts tourism in Dingle.  I *may* have a premises sorted out, that should would be a big relief, and so it would be full speed ahead marketing the sessions.  Please post a comment below with ideas for the name of the sessions as "drop-in sessions" sounds rather like a dentist appointment!  I will need to know who is interested in teaching and hopefully we can get crafts sessions up and going in other areas of Kerry in the near future.  These sessions are for visitors and locals alike, run on four hour sessions (10-1 and 2-6pm) twice a day a couple times a week.  I have hesitated to think of filling the schedule too much as I want to leave the space open for members to teach a day-long workshop.  It will be easy to add more days in...I should have a calendar of offerings on this blog soon....

Necklace by Alison Walsh, silver and pearls

New member Alison Walsh is based in Tralee Co Kerry. Alison established her jewellery design business in 2006. Specialising in contemporary and classic designs, Alison also creates specially commissioned pieces for customers looking for accessories to match an outfit for a special occasion,  especially bridal wear.  Alison is constantly retraining in her craft and completed various beading courses, a tiara making course and a recent silver smithing course.  She originally trained as a display artist in London, returning to Ireland to work as a window dresser for different fashion stores around the country.  During this time she developed her love for creating jewellery and now exhibits in Back Lane Gallery in Killarney deborahokeeffe.blogspot.com ,  as well as being a freelance window dresser.

Handmade tiara by Alison Walsh

What's New in Craft and Kerry

Craft in Kerry seems to be going from strength to strength!  We had a great meeting in Tralee on February 21st and managed to cover a lot of ground.  Our craft fair  on Friday, April 29th from 10-6pm in Dingle is going great!  The sign up sheet went around and we are looking for a few more people to do demonstrations.  With the Feile na Bealtaine and the Pan Celtic Festival running at the same time there should be lots of people about and hopefully they want to take Irish craft home with them!  Nationwide will be there to film us on the day.

One of Nikki Foley's fabulous quilts.  She just opened
her Sewing Shed textile shop in Keel, Co Kerry.

We are busily preparing for our interview with Weeshie Fogarty at Radio Kerry.  We have a full hour on his "In Conversations with..." program on Wednesday, March 30th.  Six of us will be present LIVE to talk about our own work and Craft in Kerry. We are looking forward to it very much as it should be great fun!

Yesterday, our own Nikki Foley celebrated the Grand Opening of her Sewing Shed in Keel near Castlemaine.  Not only does she have gorgeous fabrics for patchwork, but she in the local rep for Janome sewing machines (and they service them, too!) and she stocks textile paints, sewing notions, fabric dyes, and a wide array of embellishments. With her great prices and wonderful workshop room, she will no doubt be very successful!  We wish her the best of luck.  For more information on the Sewing Shed, contact 087-9924002.

Meanwhile, there's plenty to do to plan for the summer.  With the help of the new Craft Coordinator, it is hoped that there will be some proactive, positive changes for artisans in the county.  Please take a moment to fill in the survey www.surveymonkey.com/s/kerrycraft and send it back to deirdre@fruition.ie.  It should not take long to fill out and the information will be used to assess the needs of the craft sector and put in place programs and policies that will assist us.

The next meeting of Craft in Kerry will take place on Sunday, March 27th in Keel/Castlemaine at the Sewing Shed.  Directions will follow closer to the date.