Leather workshop with Roisin Gartland

RÓISÍN GARTLAND’s studio has been creating leatherwork of distinction since it was set-up in 1987. The RÓISÍN GARTLAND brand has developed over a span of 24 years to become synonymous with innovation, design, quality and craftsmanship. The studio is now developing a new strand: teaching small groups of people to make special personalised items from leather

The initial workshops in The Design Tower are a testing ground and as such are very flexible and will develop and change over the coming months. we will work with the finest luxurious leathers that have proven the test of time and as the practice encompasses several areas of expertise, there is a wide selection of skins from which to choose.

Participants are encouraged to bring along their own designs, however, templates of bags and other items will be provided and participants may embellish and adjust these templates to add their own unique touch.

The costs for each workshop is €400. this includes all materials, trimmings, fixtures and fittings. the cost is based on size and while larger items will incur an extra charge, smaller pieces may be duplicated.

The workshops are designed for and limited to groups of 4

This is a unique opportunity to make special pieces that can be used for christmas gifts… or remain prized possessions forever!

Schedule for the first set of workshops is as follows:

· 4x3 hours sessions €400 Tuesday evenings, over 4-week period

Running through October and November

· 2 full days €400 consecutive Saturdays. Each day consisting 2x3hour sessions with 1-hour lunch

Running through October and November

Templates of bags and other items will be provided and participants may embellish and adjust these templates to add their own unique touch.

Contact Róisín for booking details and booking form 01 6710020 or 0872490984 or email workshops@roisingartland.com

Studio Visits - Aisling Nelson from Rangoli

How did you come to design jewellery and hair accessories?

I began my career studying graphic design, specialising in illustration. A six month trip to India and Nepal in 1994 inspired a career change. I was completely fascinated by the ornamentation and use of colour in even the most everyday objects. I've always loved pattern and colour so India blew all of my senses.

When I got back to Ireland, I enrolled in college for a two year craft design and business studies course. I specialised in jewellery and my graduation collection featured silver box frame pendants and brooches, with  Perspex, Japanese silks and beading.

Photo by White Tea

Photo by Stephanie Fay

While at college, I also did some work experience with a textile artist where I learned the techniques of crochet and weaving. I began combining these traditional techniques with modern jewellery skills to produce a range of fine textile jewellery. On leaving college, I set up my business Rangoli in 1998.

 Headpiece made from fine crochet, incorporating citrine and pearl beading

What materials do you work with?

I work with two different methods of construction. My crochet designs are made by combining up to five strands of metallic threads and incredibly fine enamelled wires. This mix allows for subtle colour variations. For example rose gold can be created by adding a magenta coloured wire to the selection of gold and silver threads. My other collections are made from intricate beaded wire-work where I can replicate some of the delicacy and pattern formations of crochet but with a stronger structure. I incorporate a wide range of semi-precious stones, pearls and crystals into the designs.

Photo, (right) by Nicola Webster

Who do you design for and what process is involved in designing bespoke pieces?

I specialise in designing bridal jewellery and hair accessories. All of my designs are made to order so I get to meet my clients in person. This is one of my favourite aspects of my job, discussing ideas, styles and occasions!

 Photographs by Bernard Carolan at Mark Griffin Photo

The first meeting usually involves an informal chat - I get to find out about the person's style as well as the dress they have chosen. I look at many elements such as the lines and structure of the dress, the embellishment or surface decoration as well as the overall style. Hairstyles also come into the equation! Some clients come in with a clear idea of what they want while others want me to design a special piece for them. I offer advice on styling the bride's look. Listening is an important skill in what I do.

Photo by Brendan Lyon

Where is your work available?

I make bespoke pieces to order and do not supply any other retail outlets. Having previously supplied a number of outlets around the country, I found that I missed out on the connection and valuable feedback that I get from my own customers. Not everyone is able to visit my showroom, so pieces can also be ordered online and designs discussed by phone and email.

Have you worked on any unusual commissions recently?

The headpiece below was for someone who had a very definite idea on the shape, materials and overall feel of the piece that she wanted. The dress was lace, with a vintage feel. The client also sent me a picture of a comb whose shape she really liked. For this design, I printed the image of this comb and cut it out so we could place the shape on her head. This probably sounds odd but it gave us both an excellent idea of the scale and outline shape of the proposed design! Below left, you can see how I have pinned on some small beaded shapes on top of the paper.

Once we were both happy with the scale and shape of the piece, I began working on detailed sketches of the intricate lace form. I then created many individual beaded elements which were finely woven together as the piece was being constructed. This design took many hours to make and was a fascinating new direction for me in terms of assembling a piece from a number of smaller forms.

What inspires you to design?

Pattern and colour are key things. I love delicacy and transparency and yet I am equally drawn to structure and linear forms. Fashion is a constant inspiration too from eighteenth Century to modern innovative couture. Travel to weird and wonderful places is another passion. This year we're off to Uzbekistan for an adventure along the old silk route!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I really enjoy the interaction with clients and involving them in the design process. I love working for myself with the balance between client interaction and my design and making time. Most of my work comes from word of mouth referrals which is also very satisfying. And I am proud that I am now in my fourteenth year of business!

Can you tell us about the necklace you designed for the Wunderkammer exhibition?

The Wonderkammer Exhibition was a group show from designers in The Design Tower, inspired by the Albert Bender collection at the National Museum of Ireland.

Inspiration came in two forms! I loved the colour palette found in the Thangka paintings as well as the stylised swirly clouds. In these Buddhist paintings, the blue sky depicts the Buddha mind while the clouds convey the random, transitory thoughts that pass through the mind during meditation.

I enjoyed experimenting with a new material - fine coloured enamelled crochet ribbons. I discovered that I could distort these ribbons into undulating cloud shapes by crocheting along the upper edge of each strand. It is still the only piece that I have ever made that doesn't incorporate a single bead!

Thanks for chatting with us Aisling! You can read more 'Studio Visits' interviews from the series.

For more information on Rangoli, visit the website or the Rangoli Jewellery blog which showcases some of Aisling's recent bespoke commissions.

RDS Student Art Awards 2011

Congratulations to Linda Uhlemann on winning the Print Award at the recent RDS Student Art Awards 2011. Linda successfully completed a four year BA [Hons} In Visual Art Practice in The Institute of Art Design and Technology Dun Laoghaire. Linda majored in print-making.

Her graduation project was called "The House". The etchings are inspired by a house that Linda used to visit on holidays when she was a child.

"My final project was called “The House” and it concerned a house I used to visit when I was a child. I returned to it through a series of coincidences only to find it derelict, I traced the owners and unravelled the story of why this had happened. My work then became involved with memory and how it slips away and cannot be defined and contained."

'The House', consisting of four large etchings and and artists book

Etching and chincolle - Title empty corridors

Etching and chincolle - Title Mirror

Etching and chincolle - Title Bedroom

Etching and chincolle - Title Stairwell

The RDS Student Art Awards has an annual prize fund in excess of €16,000. Encompassing the RDS Taylor Art Award which has been awarded since 1860, the Awards are the most prestigious art awards open to registered art students of all award-bearing courses in Ireland.

The Awards continue the long tradition of the Society’s developmental role in supporting and nurturing the creative arts in Ireland. Until 1877, Ireland's first 'Drawing School' was managed by the Society after which it was transferred to the Government to become the Metropolitan School of Art and Design and later the National College of Art and Design.

The RDS Student Art Awards are significant in the recognition of excellence and best practice in the work of students registered in full and part-time award bearing art courses. They also provide a platform for exhibiting works that students might not have the opportunity to do otherwise. Previous winners of the RDS Student Art Awards include Walter Osborne, William Orpen, Mainie Jellett, Melanie Le Brocquy, Arthur Gibney, Dorothy Cross, Eamon O’Kane and James Hanley.

An exhibition of winners and a selection of works of excellence chosen by the judges is shown at the RDS National Crafts Competition & Student Art Awards Exhibition during the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show in the RDS Concert Hall.

Project 51

Diamond ring by Precious

Eoin McDonnell is launching a new Irish Designer Collective store which will be called Project 51. Eoin's business Precious is located in The Design Tower.  There are fifteen Irish designers involved in the new concept which is devoted to providing its customers the very best from high end luxury Irish goods. The new shop will open in September at 51 South William St Dublin 2. As Eoin says -

"By purchasing in an Irish owned boutique you are contributing significantly to the Irish economy!  For every hundred Euro spent in a multinational store only fourteen goes back into the local economy versus forty five through an Irish owned shop (figures courtesy DCBA.ie)"

Jennifer Rothwell Autumn/Winter 2011

According to Jennifer Rothwell one of Ireland’s top designers involved in the store, “South William Street was always filled with the business end of the Rag Trade and now it is being reclaimed. It’s time for the rebirth of South William St once again as the Fashion Center of Dublin!”

Housed in a 19th Century Georgian building Project 51 -  Irish Design Collective – is a High End NYC Soho style luxury boutique filled with the Best of Irish fashion, jewellery, millinery, accessories and furniture. Project 51 offers the ultimate shopping experience in a relaxed friendly atmosphere. Customers can choose from an amazing selection of luxury goods, from engagement rings to bridal wear, jewellery, evening wear, tailoring, millinery and luxury leather bags.

Colette Van Vaarsveld - Table and magazine rack

Project 51 is bringing an international concept to Ireland: establishing a creative-fashion-design hub to showcase Irish design and provide the designers with the opportunity to offer unique designs to the public.

Martha Lynn hat

The designers involved also intend to make an international impact, to increase the profile of Irish design internationally with an emphasis on high quality and innovative design. Their aim is to achieve the same level of international recognition as the “Antwerp Six”, a group of influential avant garde fashion designers who graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980-1981. The fashion collective presented a distinct, radical vision for fashion during the 1980s that established Antwerp as a notable location for fashion design.  Walter Van Beirendonck,  Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee travelled to London and Paris together in the Eighties. Together the Antwerp six have conquered the fashion world with their very distinct vision of fashion.

Designers involved in Project 51 are -
Ana Faye – www.anafaye.com (Leather Bags)
Caiomhe Keane – www.Que-Va.com (Fashion)
Colette Van Jaarsveld – www.Arcology.ie (Interior Architect – sustainable furniture & accessories)
Claire O’Connor – lilccouture.ie (Fashion)
Eily O Connell – eilyoconnell.com (Jewellery)
Emma Taylor – www.RubyJewels.ie (Jewellery)
Eoin McDonnell – www.Precious.ie (Jewellery)
Geraldine Murphy – www.Saba.ie (Jewellery)
Heather Finn – heatherfinn.com (Fashion)
Jennifer Rothwell – jrothwell.net (Fashion)
Martha Lynn – marthalynnmillinery.com (Millinery)
Sinead Doyle – sineaddoyle.com (Fashion)
Sinead Clarke – www.EssenC.ie (Fashion)
Vikki Shorten – www.VSLJewelry.com (Jewellery)
Yvonne Ryan – www.EveElla.com (Jewellery)

Article source - from Designer Dublin

Studio Visit - Róisín Gartland

The 'Studio Visits' are a monthly blog instalment. We're opening our doors to introduce you to the artists and designers in The Design Tower! Each interview will give you an insight into the individual designer or business.

This month we're chatting to Róisín Gartland.

Can you tell us about your creative path up as far as your latest field of study?

My design practice opened in 1987 and has been located in The Design Tower since 1988. I am a leather specialist and my business concentrated on developing a low volume high quality range of products.

I created bespoke pieces for private clients from the outset, (which I continue to do) and when demand for my work grew, I developed a commercial range of clothing that sold throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. I am commissioned regularly to make pieces for film & TV and also for special events and concerts.

While being an independent woman operating a small business in the late eighties to early nineties was challenging in itself, it did not feed my soul. I needed to find a way to express myself creatively outside the commercial world. In 1991 I began to explore fine art as a means to fulfill that purpose and discovered a perfect visual language ideally suited to my needs. Over the next decade I balanced studies in fine art with my design business and was rewarded with a BA in fine art in 2000.

The most difficult time came in the years following the BA. Attempts to stitch my two practices together were surprisingly unsuccessful. My business had become a demanding master allowing little space to grow. So in 2004 I took a leap of faith and closed the commercial side of the business. In breaking up the old framework new possibilities emerged and as a result the last seven years have been some of the most creative and rewarding of my career to date. I returned to study 2 years ago to concentrate on an MFA in sculpture at NCAD.

What inspires your design - are there people or things that particularly inspire you?

 Unité d'Habitation by Corbusier

I am continually drawn to pattern formations, be they in nature or in geometry.  In this regard I am inspired in equal measure by nature, the human body and by architecture. Paris is one of my favourite cities for creative stimulus and Italy for its abundance of beautiful materials. I also have moments in sleep where inspiration is awakened.

Tell us about the range of materials that you like to work with

The range of leathers available is enormous but over the years I have whittled the list down to Spanish lambskins, Japanese hides, Ethiopian lamb suede, and a small selection of special finished leathers. On the other side of my practice I really like working with clay and paper, both separately and together.

It would be great to hear about your master’s course - what your goals and aspirations were and whether you feel they were met.

Pattern formation on vellum

For the last 2 years I have been immersed in a research based MFA at NCAD. This space allowed me the freedom to explore new avenues and engage with new audiences. My goal was to develop the building blocks for my reconfigured practice and out of that I developed a method that enabled my research to weave in and out between internal and external enquiries so while I spent much time pondering issues in the studio an equal amount of time was spent developing work that required an audience to activate it. It was a very challenging and rewarding time that was equally balanced by holding on and letting go. I’m happy to say was it was successfully completed.

In relation to your studio, if you had a crystal ball what vision of the future would you like to see?

I would like to see my studio continually evolve allowing the unexpected to happen. I would like to continue to share my expertise and experience with the generations to come and I would like to move outside the studio on occasion to research abroad. Having just completed my first ‘Tower Summer School’ workshop I would also like to see these develop as regular events in the ‘Tower’ calendar.

Can you tell us about the piece you created for The Design Tower Bender Exhibition?

The concept was to create an image of beauty in a modern style while making reference to Benders collections of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints and antiquarian books.

The image brings together all these elements: the outfit is made entirely from Japanese materials and the collar and cuff highlight the prominent fan motif in Japanese prints. Finally the location is the Long Room Library with centuries of knowledge as the backdrop.

Thanks for telling us more about your business Róisín! For more information, visit the Róisín Gartland website.

Check out the other designer interviews in the series too!

Studio Visit - Seamus Gill, Silversmith and Jeweller

The 'Studio Visits' will be a monthly blog instalment. We're opening our doors to introduce you to the artists and designers in The Design Tower! Each interview will give you an insight into the individual designer or business.

This month we're chatting to Seamus Gill -  Silversmith and Jeweller

Can you tell us how long you have been here in the Design Tower and what you do?

I have had a studio in The Design Tower for nearly 20 years and I am a silversmith.

What does that entail?

As a silversmith, I normally buy silver from a bullion dealer that has been rolled out into flat sheets, similar to a flat sheet of paper, but with a thickness from 1 to 1.5mm. With a hand saw I can cut the shape I want out of the flat sheet , then I move the flat sheet of silver by hammering it into a three dimensional shape.

Is silver easy to shape?

Silver is extremely malleable and a great metal to work with. The sheet silver can be moved by stretching or compressing the metal.

Do you model it with your hands?

Oh no! It’s much too hard for that. All the stretching and compressing is done by using hammers to move the metal and a selection of anvils, which we call stakes, to support the metal.

Do you hammer the metal hot like a blacksmith?

No. Silver and non ferrous metals are generally worked cold. But you can only move the metal so far until it work hardens. I then heat it up with a gas torch until it is red hot to anneal the metal. That relives the stress in the metal and brings it back to a soft state so it can be worked further. In every piece I make it’s a continual process of working the metal then annealing and then further working.

What do you make?

I work at two scales, the small scale of jewellery and the larger scale of silversmithing work.

My jewellery is like a small version of my silversmithing work, it is all formed and shaped flat sheet. Most of my jewellery balances a highly polished section against a textured finish. In my latest collection “Flowing Curves” I have added 22 carat gold plating to the textured surface as you can see in the photograph of the bangle.

Do you like making bangles?

It’s a great scale to work in. It’s just that bit too big for someone trained in jewellery but it’s nice and small for someone trained in silversmithing.

What are you doing next in jewellery?

I’m working on developing a new collection of jewellery which I hope to have ready to launch in DesignYard this autumn.

And you work on a larger scale?

Yes, most of what I do would be on a larger scale. I make a lot of tabletop silversmithing work. That’s like candlesticks, vases, water pitchers and larger pieces like that.

Where would you show that work?

I normally make it for exhibition. I’ve just taken part in an exhibition in London where I showed a body of work in the exhibition “the Ten Masters” of British Silversmithing as the launch of British Silver Week. And I am represented by DesignYard on Nassau Street, just a few doors down from Grafton Street. I regularly have work exhibited there.

Is all your silversmithing work for galleries?

No, I do a lot of silversmithing work to commission. Throughout the history of silversmithing most work is made to commission.

What exactly is commissioning?

Basically it’s where I can design and make a piece that you can’t get anywhere else. I suppose it’s a bespoke service.

What kind of commissions are you working on now?

I am making the trophies for the Darley Irish Oaks races at the Curragh and the awards for the Rugby player and Club of the year which is presented by the Rugby writers of Ireland and on some private presentation piece.

Do you only work in silver?

Over the last number of years I have made sculptural pieces in sheet bronze. It has very similar working qualities to silver, but without the high cost of silver. I have also introduced colour to my work through patination on the bronze.

At the moment I have some pieces in the “Portfolio” exhibition in the Farmleigh Gallery in the Phoenix Park and I’m working on some pieces for the “Sculpture in Context” exhibition that will be on in the Botanic Gardens in September.

Séamus, thank you for sharing your work with us! Next month we will be featuring another designer from The Design Tower. You can also read the other interviews in the series.

Rangoli featured on the 'One Fab Day' blog

Rangoli headpieces have been featured on the Irish bridal blog One Fab Day. Aisling Nelson designs bespoke bridal jewellery and hair accessories. The article features designers that create alternative headpieces for weddings. The two designs above are bespoke commissions made from fine crochet and incorporating citrine and pearl detail.

You can read the full article on the One Fab Day blog. To see more of Aisling's designs, visit the Rangoli website and blog.