Éire (Ireland)?

[Saor]

I am planning to take part in a craft fair in Gort. Hope the weather holds.

[edelC]

the most crafty thing I did for Paddys day was lie on the sofa all day and watch rugby, But I did clean and organise my craft/sewing room the following day, it took me 9 hours!! I really need to reduce my pack-rat tendancies. But you know how it is, decent supplies are so hard to get here that you have to stockpile when you come across something.

craft fair in Gort??? what did I miss, was that Paddys day? I dont live too far from Gort

[Saor]

It was a few stalls around the statue in the Square. We got blown away - literally- my boards with earrings went flying off - the weather was dreadful & our tent wasn't up to it. I am not sure if it was publicised.

We left early and went to Paddy Burke's in Clarinbridge for chowder 

Whereabouts do you live? One of my  SIL lives outside Gort and another lives in Ennis. My Parents in law live in Tubber. I live in North Galway near Tuam...

Nice to meet a craftster in the West.

[edelC]

I live in east Clare in Mountshannon, so about 30 mins or so from Gort,

Sounds like the market was a wash-out, but the weather was insane, I felt sorry for all those marching bands over from sunnier places, 17 March is not a good date for a festival in Ireland!


Nice to meet you too!

[feminine_earth]

Hey Everyone! 

Just wondering where you guys get your craft supplies?  My husband and I are moving back to Ireland in November (Donegal), and I have absolutely no idea where to buy my craft stuff.

Here in Florida, I normally buy my craft stuff at Wal-Mart or Joann's (a big chain-type craft store).  Anything similar over there?  I don't think ASDA (is that even in the Republic yet?  I know they're opening a few of them in the North...) has a good craft supply section, and I don't like shopping there anyway (would rather give my money to small businesses, ya know?).

Thanks in advance! 

[edelC]

As someone who returned from Australia a couple of years ago my advice is to look into the cost of shipping stuff over, if you guys are moving you might have a lot of stuff in any case, but things (especially fabric) are so so expensive here it is much cheaper to ship stuff in.

If thats not an option, you will end up chewing your fingernails off in frustration when you see the craft supplies available to your crafster buddies in the US and oz and not be able to get them here...God bless personal swaps, I have got some interesting fabric through there.

There are a few suggestions for places on this thread, Vibes and Scribes in Cork is good, Easons is expanding their selection of stationery( but its still limited) There are a few art and hobby shops dotted about, craft is starting to happen in Ireland but its still very niche and difficult to get any decent craft books.

So the long winded answer to your question is online, from friendly folks overseas or pay through the nose! (sorry!)

[feminine_earth]

Thanks, Edel!  I kinda figured as much.  Hopefully my mom won't mind sending me some stuff over when I need it.  We're gonna be using a company called UPakWeShip to ship most of our stuff over...they're supposedly pretty reasonable and they don't charge by weight!  Whoohooo!  But when I run out of materials, I guess I'll just have to buy most of my stuff online. 

Also, just in case you all have not seen this yet, below is the website to the Crafts Council of Ireland.  They have seminars and courses, and if you sell your items, you can join and they will list your shop on their website!

http://www.ccoi.ie/

Happy Crafting! 

[edelC]

in case I havent stressed it enough, bring lots and lots of fabric. we are having fabulous weather here this weekend and I have been tie dying, with fabric I brought from australia and dyes I got in San francisco the last time I was there! So bring far more fabric than you think you will ever need its ridiculously priced here and the selection of interesting prints is very very limited

[feminine_earth]

Thanks for the tip!  I will definitely bring lots of fabric!

[kmsmaverick]

yes, fabric. i was a bit disappointed with hickeys, especially since i have also visited portugal where the fabric shops are TOP drawer. way better than the ones i have around here in the US.

so i was hoping the ones in ireland would be the same. not so much. but the singer sewing centre and the wool shop in bray are worth a visit, not least because it's a nice town to visit and poke around. in the summer time i bet it is full of people.