WATCH: Cork artist inspired by travels in Asia

CORK artist Rosie Healy was inspired by the nature and crafts she saw while travelling in Asia five years ago, and her interest and skill has now grown to the point where she has created her own brand, AchickWITHtwoSTIX.

“I was working with a women’s organisation in Nepal, which used to help women that lived in villages with their periods and promote period positivity,” she explains. “We used to craft and sell hats, and 20% profit used to go back to help those women in the villages.”

Ms Healy travelled to Spain to learn more more skills and now creates everything from hats, dreamcatchers, and dried flower bouquets to intricate plant holders.

She also turns her hand to seasonal gifts and finds Christmas one of her busiest times. While she sells on Etsy and Instagram, she prefers when possible to travel around and sell products from her van at markets.

Ms Healy works full time and creates her products in her garage in her spare time. She says it is not easy to get established as a working crafter, pointing out the costs of renting space. However, she hopes to be able to rent somewhere in the future.

“I would love to rent a space to create and expand. I have a dream... I would love to do backdrops for weddings, and I also love gardening... So I would love to have a larger space to grow flowers to dry them.”

She says that it’s difficult for artists to value themselves and put a price they think is worth it.

“You know, when you think of the material and the time that I spend to put into them, I don’t make so much profit off anything I sell.”

Ms Healy relies on local recycled cords in her work, and most of her materials are recycled or upcycled.

She believes that since Covid, many small crafts businesses have come up, and many people have started to tap into their creativity.

“Everybody is a crafter, everybody has the potential to make things and to express themselves through art,” she says.