Forget-Me-Nots are popping up everywhere at this time of year and we like them a lot.

In Victorian times they had a language of flowers and the Forget-Me-Not was a symbol of true love. In German folklore a knight was picking a posy of Forget-Me-Nots along the bank of a river. He slipped and the weight of his armour pulled him under, realising he was drowning the knight threw the flowers to his love calling out “Forget me not”. Henry IV adopted the flower as his symbol during his exile in 1398. On his return to England a year later it became part of his royal crest and it was said that he had the image of Forget-Me-Nots sown into all of his garments and many of the garments of his courtiers. On top of all of that it is the state flower of Alaska and to think we once thought they were just a pretty weed.

These stories are one of the many reasons we have Nicholas Mosse's wonderful pottery range here at M&B. We love the pattern and think, given the symbolism of true love, they make a wonderful wedding gift. Shop here.

We get exceptionally frustrated with our printer that sits boldly in the corner of the studio. It never works when it needs to and the outrageously priced ink perpetually runs out at the crucial moment. It kind of gave us a bias against ink. However on discovering this little film we have learnt about a whole new world of ink making. The Printing Ink Company is a Canadian company making process ink for industry. They are a team of passionate craftsman mixing and blending a magical mix of raw ingredients into magnificent colours.  Well worth watching and it's fascinating listening to the chief maker talk through the process. A little nerdy but super interesting. 

A simple, elegant Carafe & Glass, a project we started out on 6 months ago. A project we took our time on as simple is never so simple. This was a project about understanding, we believe all good design starts with listening and understanding.

We first needed to understand how glass worked and then most importantly how Jerpoint worked with glass. Blowing glass is a super physical process that requires constant movement and focus. It is an odd dance of sorts and every maker has their own approach to the process and the material.

The idea was to develop a new product with Jerpoint, an everyday product. A product that was reflective of Jerpoint's aesthetic and desire to create beautiful, functional glass objects for everyday use. We wanted to design an object that through use became part of an enjoyable daily ritual. An object that is valued beyond its function. 

Above there is a series of photographs illustrating the production process. Just click the arrows to view the making of the first prototype. It was a very enjoyable day.

Here is a bit more on the making of a Shannon One Design. Part of our favourite documentorary series Hands. A series produced for the Irish National braodcastor RTE, in the 1970's and 80's. Developed by David and Sally Shaw-Smith, a visionary series, way ahead of its time. It has a beautiful pace, which feels very much of the time and place. We love it.  The full series is available here.

With the making of a shiny new shed for Brown Thomas Dublin we decided it would be fun to document how it all comes together. Working with Albert Hooi, a super young Irish filmmaker we put together this short film that captures the building and stocking of our Brown Thomas Shed.  Press play above and we hope you enjoy.

With summer in the air here at Makers & Brothers we have been thinking about getting back out on the water. We love boats, sailing and just being on the water. As Ratty once said to mole in Wind and the Willows, “There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” Recently we started a search for a traditional Irish Sailing boat called a Gleoiteog. This search for a traditional Irish sailing boat led us back to our favorite craft documentary Hands and to watching the episode above about making a Shannon One Design.  Hands is a really super series of craft documentaries produced in Ireland in the 1970’s. Developed by David and Sally Shaw-Smith, it was a visionary series, way ahead of its time and has a beautiful pace, which feels very much of the time and place. We love it.  The full series is available here.

Very excited about our up-and-coming event at Brown Thomas, Dublin. While sorting out what stock to offer in our Brown Thomas Shed we decided to have a little fun and put together a short stopmotion of the tweed mouse gathering all the stock together. Enjoy. 

Joseph Walsh is a young Irish creative who has established his reputation over the last few years with his truly impressive works in wood. He pushes wood to the limit and manipulates its form like no other. Regardless of how you feel about his aesthetic you cannot but admire the workmanship and his respect for the material.

Leading a super team of craftsmen he works the wood into the most unexpected free forms, taking care and much consideration of every detail. It is a beautiful process. This film shows a table from his Enignum series and wonderfully captures the process involved. The filmmaker, Pau Camarasa, sets a pace with his shifts in focus, music and angles, that nicely expresses the effort-taking place in front of us. Have a look, click play above. 

You can see more of Joseph's work here. 
Thank you to the OEN for spotting this film.  

This is a project designed by Clancy Moore Architects. It was for these houses, or more importantly for their owners and the skilled carpenter that built them, that the Strand Lamp was originally designed. It was a gift, a special gift that came out of a close working relationship, the type of relationship that allows for conversation, understanding and respect.

Slievebawnogue was the name given to this project that involved the construction of two dwellings for a brother and sister. The family have lived in this valley for many generations. A reservoir dominates the valley floor which contributed to the area being designated an area of outstanding natural beauty. Aware of this context Clancy Moore’s approach was to site the houses in the scar of the disused phylite quarry which led to the creation of the reservoir.

The quarry offered uncertain ground conditions and so the houses act as an inhabited bridge, spanning between natural and man-made outcrops. The houses’ form derives from the structure necessary to achieve these spans. Entering through a shared staircase internally the building is modelled to present a variety of scales of spaces. More intimate living spaces and bedrooms occur in a lower north east facing wing. Taller living spaces address the south west. The form of the two dwellings closes the quarry to create a shared communal garden room overlooked by a long veranda and the living rooms of each house. You can view photographs of the house taken by Alice Clancy by clicking the arrows above. You can view the lamp by clicking here. 

We are typography lovers, which I am sure there is a proper word for. We love a well-considered poster, elegant handwriting, eye catching shop fronts, restraint and exuberance in equal parts. The art of sign painting is an applied art that we are slowly losing. It is funny how it goes almost unnoticed until it is about to vanish. The dedicated few practitioners, still applying their time-honoured methods, are wonderfully documented in a new film called SIGN PAINTERS, a film by Faythe Levine & Sam Macon.  

It is a beautiful film introducing us to the characters, the craftsmen, still working today, working away because for them it is not about prestige or money. Signs are part of a life they have chosen, a creative life that has a real impact on the physical world. Above is just the trailer we are looking forward to the full version.