Weekend Loves: Practical activewear, seductive scents and artisan tortilla chips

Ruth O'Connor's guide to inspiring ideas and beautiful things

Sat, 21 Jan, 2023 - 02:00

Ruth O'Connor

Seductive home scents by Haus of Deco

Established by fashion buyer Laura Magee, owner of the award-winning Instagram account Deco Dwelling, Haus of Deco is a range of brilliantly named home scents born in Belfast and made in London. Beautifully packaged, the range includes candles called ‘Find me under the limelight’ and ‘Beneath the sheets’ made with high grade soy wax and cotton wicks. The range also includes wax melts, mists and diffusers. Pictured here is the ‘Who said romance was dead’ candle — a seductive floral scent made with damask rose and smoky oud with notes of clove and vanilla. £25.

haus-of-deco.com

Get moving with the M&S Goodmove range

Since its launch two years ago, the Goodmove range by Marks & Spencer has proven popular with customers for its practicality and comfort. The range includes options for adults and children with prices starting at €16. This season for women there’s a focus on warmth, waterproof features, ease of movement and stretch across everything from leggings to parkas, fleeces to trainers. For men there’s a focus on sustainability and wearability across a range of activities from working out at the gym to swimming and cycling. Kids have been catered for too with a broad range of active and sportswear that’s designed to move with your kid whether they are attending sporting activities or simply playing outside with friends.

www.marksandspencer.com

Beautiful bargains at the Ethical Silk Company’s sample sale

Luxury sleepwear by The Ethical Silk Company

If you’ve always wanted to buy yourself something from The Ethical Silk Company but their products were beyond your budget then you might be interested to hear about the upcoming sample sale at the brand. Running from January 25-31, the sample sale comes just in time for Valentine’s Day and will feature great bargains across the range for both men and women, with anything from 30% to 70% off items depending on the level of imperfection — for example unpaired pieces, items with small blemishes or slight imperfections. All items are wearable and usable, with no rips or tears. Any imperfections are minimal and for reassurance there is a 14-day return policy on sample sale items and free shipping on orders over €100.

Find out more at www.theethicalsilkco.com

Artisan tortilla you won’t want to miss

We discovered this brand over Christmas and the products are so good that we just had to share. Blanco Niño is an Irish range of traditional, slow-cooked tortilla chips inspired by Mexico. The brand is based in Tipperary and the high-quality ingredients are sourced from heritage farmers and artisan producers in Mexico — many of whose families have been producing them using age-old processes for generations. Blanco Niño tortilla chips are made using an ancient Aztec process known as nixtamalization and they take three days to make. All of this attention to detail is clear from both the flavour and texture of the chips which are available in Lightly Salted, Blue Corn, and Chilli & Lime with two new flavours on the way this year. The tortilla chips are widely available across over 800 stockists including Dunnes Stores, Tesco, SuperValu, Avoca, and Fallon & Byrne. You can also buy a six-bag box online for €25.50.

www.blanco-nino.com

A Million to One - a thrilling new book for young people

Bangladeshi/Irish writer Adiba Jaigirdar is the award-winning, critically acclaimed, and bestselling author of The Henna Wars and Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating. The highly accomplished academic is the winner of the YA Book Prize 2022, the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2021 and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. Her latest book, A Million to One, is about four friends who steal aboard the Titanic in search of the Rubaiyat — a book inlaid with priceless jewels. Despite their very different backgrounds, the girls must work together to pull off the heist of their lives. Described as heart wrenching, fast paced, and gripping, this is a great book for young people to kick start a year of reading. Paperback, £7.99.

hachettechildrens.co.uk

Showcase launches tomorrow at Dublin’s RDS

The annual trade show Showcase opens tomorrow at Dublin’s RDS with over 380 exhibitors showing their latest products to retailers from Ireland and beyond. The show is open to trade visitors only who are there to source new products for their shops across fashion, homewares, gifts and jewellery. From big brands such as Aran Woollen Mills and Dubarry to small independent businesses such as Cork’s own Banana Berry and The Silver Loom, these are the brands you’ll be seeing popping up in shops countrywide. One of the highlights of this year’s show will be a presentation of Irish fashion developed by stylist Aisling Farinella.