Shopping at the Barbootsale

Last Saturday I went to the  Barbootsale (which I blogged about here), and I picked up a selection of treats for myself and bargaintastic prices. I've been meaning to buy some art from Dish Pig for ages, I missed his last exhibition so when I heard he would be selling at this I put some money aside. Although I hadn't intended on buying 4 pieces!! At €10 a pop though I couldn't really resist though. I have a thing for sets of 3, and also for robots, so it was quite logical that I would buy this triptych, I love the detail of the black and white one contrasting with the bold shapes of the two colour pieces sitting either side of it. My friend Emmet Kierans was also selling his work too, and I paired his tv man with another one from Dish Pig to make this set. We already have one of Emmets pieces, I like his two distinctive styles, his painterly fine art work, and also his grubby seedy cartoonish pieces.

Aside from splurging on art I also picked up this very Mad Men looking dress for only €5. When I got home and tried it on it actually is a little tight across the chest. I would get away with it, but at the moment(due to the ongoing detox) I'm loosing weight on a continuous basis, so I'd say in another month or so it will be that little bit more comfortable. On top of being adorable, a lovely shade of green, in thick warm material, it also has pockets which in my book makes it a total winner! I also picked up this lovely dresy scarf. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I know it was really reasonable. I also got a really fun button necklace from fellow blogger Claire-Ann for only €1!

Riverfest Weekend

Thanks to Limerick News Wire for the image.

I have a pretty busy weekend coming up at the market this week. It is the Riverfest in Limerick this coming Bank Holiday and there will be thousands of people flooding into the city. Also all those people that abandon our city centre for the rest of the year in favour of the suburban shopping centres will pour back in too. There are loads of great activities including The Great Limerick Fun, The French Market, The International BBQ competition, and also an important rugby match in Thomond.

Thanks to Munster Images for the photo.

At the market we will have a fashion show during the Friday Flea Market hosted by the renowned Celia Holman Lee, with an array of clothes from independent boutique in Limerick. We will have the regular market on Saturday, but for the first time the are hosting a full nighttime gig in the venue, with The Coronas playing. They are not really my taste in music, but I'm very excited to see what other bands they book as it's a gorgeous venue.On the Sunday and Monday there will be the Artisan Craft Fair, with over 50 artisans from around the country selling their crafts. I'm looking forward to these two days as I've done very well there before, also I love having a gander at what everyone else is making...and maybe buy one or two things if I do well.

I'll also have some good friends from home visiting that weekend whom I haven't seen since Christmas. I think between work and play I'll have to transform into the Energizer Bunny that weekend.

Monthly Artisan Craft Fair

I'll be selling tomorrow at a great craft fair in the Milk Market, the Monthly Artisan Craft Fair. The organisation for this has been shopped outside of the regular organizers and it looks like Christine has done an amazing job. All the market stalls are full, and there is loads of talent coming form all around Ireland. Some of the readers of Etsy Ireland might recognise people like Bonzie, Stradbally Jewellery, and Feltfieltrofilc, as they are fellow team members. Check out her website for a full list of traders, or join her facebook fanpage here.

Christine has organised an amazing array of entertainment for the entire day, from a harpist, live blues, and then trad, between 2.00-3.30pm there will be entertainment for the kids too with face painting and puppetry.

If the punters turn up it is set to be an amazing day, a fair that I will happily take part in on a monthly basis. It's a stunning venue, with great facilities so it makes sense that it should be a resounding success.

Trading times: 12-7pm

Venue: Milk Market, Limerick City

Date: Thursday July 29th

Pictures Courtesy of Bock the Robber

Do you Love Limerick?

As lots of you may already know who are from outside Ireland, the lovely city of Limerick has a pretty bad reputation. Some bad stuff has happened here like any other city, but it was completely over blown by the media, cos bad news sells papers. All the positive cultural thing were ignored for years by the general media, and the city has suffered through lack of tourism. A good friend of mine Richard Lynch decided that to battle this problem in the only way he knew how, with positive action. Himself and a few other proactive folk in Limerick set up the website ILoveLimerick.com, to document all the amazing things happening here. It's an online tv station packed with interviews and footage of the city.
It's so great to see people facing a promblem and instead of gripeing about it down the pub, they gotten up and done something for themselves. I love the range of different topics that they cover from break dancing, theatre, sport, festivals, comedy and art. I've talked to Richard about maybe getting my own spot on it too, which would be lots of fun and great exposure too.

Note: If you watch the first video you'll see my very handsome boyfriend John Elliott talking about the history of Limerick.