Some of County Meath’s best craft and design businesses will be part of this year’s Bord Bia Bloom event in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. In total 13 Members of Meath Made are showcasing and selling their products at this five-day festival of gardening, food and fun.
Eight members from Meath Made, which is County Meath’s creative cluster, are coming together to operate a collective shop at Bloom this year.
Shoppers to the Meath Made stand which is located in the Grand Pavilion (stand number G117) will have an opportunity to view and purchase the work of eight locally based craft, design makers from across the county. Visitors can meet with the makers behind the business and connect with Meath based craftspeople, learn about their stories, see the quality and value of the wonderful range of products that are designed and made right here in the Boyne Valley.
Supported by the Local Enterprise Office Meath, the Meath Made collective shop, is a special area at Bloom that houses a range of Meath’s finest design and craft talent, the shop will run throughout the five days of Bloom from Thursday 30 May to Monday 3 June. The eight businesses from Meath include: Lus Aromatherapy, Faber Furniture Design, Boann Irish Felt Designs, Roisin & Robin Unique Gifts, Eileen McNulty Textiles, Papertwigs Designs, The Patchwork Peacock and Anticipating Daisy Pottery.
With over 100,000 visitors attending Bord Bia Bloom in 2023, the Meath Made stand is sure to be busy and aims to inspire shoppers to think about their purchasing habits to choose sustainable, locally produced high quality goods that are made to last.
Bord Bia Bloom, which is a highlight event in the summer calendar for garden, horticulture, food and homewares enthusiasts, will open its doors to thousands of buyers from across Ireland, over the June Bank Holiday weekend.
Other participants from Meath Made include: Anita Reynolds Art & Design, Clare O’Connor Designs, Síobhan Daly Designs and Deeca Designs. All will be selling their products from the Design Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) area within Bloom. Dawn McGrath Art, will also be exhibiting at an Art Exhibition in the Ashtown Visitor Centre which launches at Bloom and runs for the month of June.
Linda Menton, owner of The Patchwork Peacock discovered her love of patchwork quilting and applique when she was living in Asia. Linda says: “In the midst of the hussle and bussle of Phnom Penh, I stumbled upon a shop selling beautiful, handcrafted quilts and I haven't looked back. On return to Kuala Lumpur, where I was teaching in an American International School, I started attending quilting classes, and that journey has led me to my first experience of exhibiting at Bord Bia Bloom with Meath Made”. Linda creates patchwork quilting and applique from her design space in Ratoath, her works include whimsical animals which are playful and joyous, bringing colour and imagination to children’s rooms. Linda is recently appointed to the position of secretary of Meath Made and is really looking forward to meeting lots of new customers for The Patchwork Peacock at Bloom 2024.
Eileen McNulty, of Eileen McNulty Textiles an accomplished embroidery artist, specialises in crafting textile landscapes inspired by the rolling hills of County Meath and the captivating tales of Fairy trees in Irish folklore. Her artworks are a testament to her exceptional skill and her unwavering passion for the art of embroidery. Speaking from her studio in Fourknocks, Eileen says “I am really busy preparing for Bloom, making new pieces and building up my stock levels, I love swapping stories of Irish Folklore tales with customers who purchase my handmade textile art. I currently sell throughout Ireland and have some stockists in the United States and hopefully I might connect with some new stockists at Bloom”.
Caoimhe Delany, Business Advisor at LEO Meath - believes this is a unique opportunity for the eight creative businesses from Meath to make significant sales for each of their businesses and to develop new connections with customers and potential stockists.
“Working together showcasing and selling some of the best quality designed products from Meath in the one place in front a of a potential 100,000 buyers is an incredible opportunity for our Meath Made exhibitors. This is the 1st time a creative collective from County Meath has come together to operate a collective shop at Bloom. If things go well at this event, I can see the Meath Made stand being a regular fixture at Bloom’ She goes on to say “2024 is a very exciting year for Meath Made with 13 members exhibiting at Bloom, Meath has some of the finest creative businesses in Ireland and operating this collective shop will certainly help in raising the profile of the craft, designer makers based in Meath to the public”.
Kieran Kehoe, Chief Executive of Meath County Council said: “Bord Bia Bloom is a wonderful platform for the creative businesses from Meath to sell to tens of thousands of buyers. I am looking forward to visiting all the Meath exhibitors at Bloom and to visit the Meath Made shop which not only brings the creative businesses together under the one roof but also highlights the importance of collaboration among this creative cluster. There is an opportunity for significant sales for each Meath business and those participating at the Meath Made Stand, which has a direct knock on effect in their locality ” he goes on to say that “ County Meath, with its rich history and vibrant communities, has always been a hub of creativity and innovation with our earliest ancestors creating megalithic artwork right here in the Boyne Valley, now is the turn of a new wave of artists, craft design makers to showcase their works to the Irish public”.
Bord Bia Bloom takes place over five days on the June Bank Holiday weekend (May 30 - June 3), running from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm daily. Bloom, which celebrates its 18th birthday in 2024, has been deemed one of the nations’ favourite summer events and takes place across 70 acres in the Phoenix Park.
Bord Bia Bloom is a world-class, uplifting and innovative horticulture, food, and drink experience with nature and sustainable living at its heart. Originally created to promote plants, garden design, horticulture and gardening, Bord Bia’s role in promoting food and drink has allowed Bloom to develop further. The show has grown into something which not only makes for a great day out, but also offers a huge range of practical information on everything from gardening, to growing fruit and vegetables, cooking and culture, homewares crafts and fashion.
For more information on Meath Made please visit www.meathmade.com.
For business supports for creative, craft, design makers please visit www.localenterprise.ie/meath.
