Wish List: Clever candles to retro clocks,

Go back in time with these gloriously colourful retro clocks, 40cm each and €35 from Harvey Norman. www.harverynorman.ie

Here at Wishlist we just love people with the get up and go to start their own business — and if it’s in Cork, boy, sure it’s even better. Carpenter Steve Cooper’s father bequeathed him a wood turning lathe and with the downturn in the building sector, Steve set up a work shop and after experimenting with different woods and styles came up with these beauties. The trio are hand-turned on the lathe from Baltic Birch which has been laminated and finished with beeswax. A trio of candleholders is €55, go to www.stevecooperdesigns.com to find out more.

darlingviolets.com is a boutique website set up by design queens Maxine Acton and Flicky Howe, offering a carefully collated array of seriously cool gifts, homewares and décor items. They are the only Irish stockist for Danish brand, OYOY Living Design and their website has a constantly updated selection of eclectic quirky goods that’s well worth checking out. Prices start at €4.50. See www.darlingviolets.com

Bring the outdoors in with these fab green galleries by Dutch designers Elho. The traditional pot planter gets a reboot, combining the joys of nature with contemporary design. €29.99 for one. Their ‘green basics’ range is made from recycled materials, so tick the stylish and sustainable boxes there for yourself. The full range is available from Arboretum Home and Garden Heaven and online at www.arboretum.ie.

Try not to go: ‘Aww’ when you clap your peepers on this bashful honey bunny bag. Go on, I dare you. The cutest way to present an Easter chocolate gift can be sniffed out at The Pavilion Garden Centre in Cork for €14.95, www.thepavilion.ie

When Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein are happy to sell your designs, you know you’re doing something right. Former Limerick School of Art and Design student Anne Behan McConnell set up her Áine label in 2001 and uses natural fibres and dyes, sourcing materials from Ireland, many from Kilcar in Co Donegal. Her range includes an eco-line of hats, scarves, mittens, jackets and waistcoats. www.giveirishcraft.com This beauty can be yours for €45

If the mammy enjoys her cup of tea, without having to make a pot for the rest of you lazy so-and-sos, Aldi have a cute tea set for one for €6.99. Just give her the peace to enjoy it, of course. And a nice biscuit. Job done.

Do you want to really spoil mother dearest on the 30th? Our very own Peter Dowdall is heading to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014, from 21st — 23rd May, and is inviting our readers to go along too. It costs €699 pp including taxes and the package includes return flights with Aer Lingus from Cork to London; 2 nights in the 4-star Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch on a B&B basis; a full day Excursion to the Chelsea Flower Show with Peter as your guide; Chelsea Flower Show day admission ticket and catalogue; introduction meeting on evening of arrival in London; free time for shopping and private coach transfers to and from the airport and flower show. Go to www.travelfox.ie or call 1890 98 98 02 or 021-4976293.

If your old chiminea has suffered from the elements, Rust-Oleum have a stove and BBQ paint that might do the trick to restore it to it’s original glory. It resists heat up to 650°C and will provide a durable, corrosion resistant finish to the surface. If only they had something like that for mammys, I could do with a new outer layer round about now. Available from Homebase and other stockists like www.paintshop.ie. €10.80 for 400ml.

SOMETHING FOR THE DIARY

100 artists were asked by the Graphic Studio, Dublin, to explore different aspects of the National Botanical Gardens. Resulting in 100 fine art prints, they were first shown at the Botanic Gardens, Dublin, late last year and have been replanted to the Lavit Gallery until April 8. The images range from the literal, which are beautiful botanical records, to the conceptual which explore the shared space between the artist and the natural world. The artists include Carmel Benson, Johnny Bugler; Diarmuid Delargy; Joe Dunne; James McCreary; Bernadette Madden; Frieda Meaney and Lars Nyberg. Pictured is Ruth O’Donnell’s A Nightingale in the Rose Garden.

All participating artists have agreed to a very special price of €100. www.lavitgallery.com