Meet the makers involved in Cork Craft Month

Cork Craft & Design is celebrating the 15th year of Cork Craft Month, set to take place this August.

The festival is a month-long celebration of local craft and design, with events taking place across Cork city and county. The festivities kicked off on July 28 with a launch party at St Patrick’s Woollen Mills, Douglas.

Cork Craft & Design is made up of more than 110 specialist craftspeople and artists from all over Cork, making everything from furniture to ceramics, to jewellery and prints.

We caught up with three Cork Craft & Design members and asked them about their work, and what they are looking forward to in the month ahead.

Margaret Twomey, owner of Purpose Mosaic

Margaret Twomey, of Cobh, is the owner of Purpose Mosaic. She has been in business for 25 years and a member of Cork Craft & Design since its foundation in 2005.

Margaret makes mosaic jewellery and homewares such as tables, mirrors and lampshades, using materials like glass and semi-precious stone.

It’s a sustainable craft, and Margaret loves that she can reuse and upcycle items to give them a second life.

It’s an opportunity for people to “use what they have in their homes and make art,” she says.

One lady came to Margaret with an old vase that was “cracked and unusable”, so she made a mirror and a table with the pieces.

“She was thrilled with the outcome,” says Margaret.

Over the years, her work has evolved.

“Life changes along the way, and so does your craft,” she says.

Originally, Margaret was part of a small group of artists called East Cork Creatives. They all joined Cork Craft & Design together, and are all still members today.

“It’s great to be under the one umbrella,” she says.

Next year will be the 20th anniversary of Cork Craft & Design.

“We’re a great support to each other,” she says. “You make great friendships, and they are life-long.”

Margaret has gotten “professional and personal” support from fellow members over the years. She also appreciates that members can access guidance from the Local Enterprise Office and the Craft Council of Ireland.

“You never feel you’re on this path on your own,” she says. “It’s wonderful to be part of it.”

Margaret was among those taking part in the market at the launch of Cork Craft Month on July 28.

“It’s exciting for all the makers,” she says. “There’s a lovely atmosphere.”

It’s also a chance to buy from local artists and makers.

“It’s so important to support local and buy from local artists,” says Margaret. “It turns the wheel, and keeps us employed.”

“If people didn’t buy local, we wouldn’t be able to keep making,” she says.

With Cork’s diaspora spread all over the world, many customers come looking for a present to send to family and friends living abroad in places such as Australia or America.

“It’s a piece of Cork wherever you are living,” says Margaret.

Margaret is on Instagram as @purposemosaic.

Zivile Zeniauskaite, owner of

Zen Felting Zivile

Zivile is the owner of Zen Felting. She grew up in Lithuania, near white sand beaches on the edge of the Baltic Sea, and moved to Ireland 27 years ago when she got married. She now lives just outside Mitchelstown in North Cork, “surrounded by the Ballyhouras and Galtees”.

With her four children now grown up, Zivile has turned her focus towards her crafting business.

“I work with wool,” says Zivile. “I felt all kinds of everything.”

She makes bags, hats, scarves, baby booties and table mats.

“I really love working with Irish wool,” she says.

Her main suppliers are local sheep farmers from Cork and just over the border in County Limerick.

For Zivile, felting is “meditative and relaxing” as well as creative work, thanks to the regular, repetitive movement of it.

One of the newest member of Cork Craft & Design, Zivile joined the group at the end of May this year. She is already feeling the benefits of being part of the collective.

“It’s such a pleasure to be in company with great artists and very nice people,” she says.

Creating art can be a solitary experience, and Cork Craft & Design has provided a space for Zivile to “share and bounce ideas” off other artists and craftspeople.

“When creating, you are on your own, so you need that,” she says.

Zivile is proud to put sustainability at the heart of what she does, using “no plastic and nothing from China,” she adds.

She aims to be as local as possible, with most of her materials coming from Ireland, with the exception of Italian wool that she uses for some clothing, as it is softer.

As part of Cork Craft Month, Zivile will be holding workshops where people can “felt and chat”.

Community is something that really inspires her.

“I’m involved in a lot of community projects,” she says. “It’s where my heart is.”

One such project involves creating a mandala of 1,000 felted flowers, which she hopes to have completed and exhibited in Mitchelstown later this year.

Zivile plans to have a website in the future, and can be found on Instagram as @zenfelting.

Simone O’Shaughnessy, owner of

Bagoose Clothing

Simone O’Shaughnessy is the founder of Bagoose Clothing, a children’s clothing brand specialising in colourful, soft fleece items with “bright, strong prints”. She makes everything from baby booties to hoodies, for boys and girls up to 10 years old.

A graduate of Limerick College of Art and Design, Simone has been in business for 24 years. She started Bagoose Clothing when her children were very small, and she wanted vibrant, comfortable clothing for them to wear. To this day, all items are designed and handmade by Simone in her studio at her home in Passage West.

She has been a member of Cork Craft & Design for almost 14 years. Since then, she has seen Cork Craft & Design go from strength to strength, opening its first dedicated retail space in Douglas Shopping Centre, and more recently relocating to a stand-alone shop in St Patrick’s Woollen Mills, Douglas.

Although she has been a member of Cork Craft & Design consistently since joining, Simone says she has become “more active as the years went on”.

One of her favourite things about being a member is the support and friendship she gets from the other makers.

“A lot of us work alone, and we realise the trial that brings. We understand each other,” she says.

Simone is encouraging people to take part in Cork Craft Month, which has a busy programme. She says there will be “exhibitions around the place” throughout the month, and details will be available on the Cork Craft & Design website and social media.

Simone’s work is available online at www.bagooose.com.

For more on Cork Craft Month, see www.corkcraftanddesign.com/ccd-event-calendar.