Wish List: Eight top picks for your home and diary for May

Esther N McCarthy chooses sustainable beauty sets, swimmingly good sculptures, and excellent exhibitions 

Thady Trá has been honing his photography skills for many years. 

We were delighted to catch Thady Trá’s solo photography exhibition, By Eye, in Gallery Asna in Clonakilty this week. His exhibition of work ‘focuses’ on daily life — captured moments which are both artistic and endearing in their portrayal of their subject. 

Thady’s take on photography? ‘I like photos that make you say “Huh!?”’ he says. Thady develops and prints all his work in the inhouse darkroom in Clonakilty Community Arts Centre, and his photos are printed on silver gelatin darkroom paper. Small prints are €60, big prints are €120. See clonarts.com.

SUSTAINABLE CHOICE

As we’re focusing on sustainability this month here at the Irish Examiner, on our Bathroom Shelf this week is this Nunaïa Beauty ground and glow ritual set, €125. Check out this ethical and sustainable skincare crafted to nourish skin and soul, from Co. Tipperary. You can discover more at Nunaia.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

WOOL SET

How cute is this Wool in School kiddo set? It’s a wool-inspired education company, committed to increasing the awareness of wool, its production and its sustainable qualities. This set is €24.95 and you can find more options at Woolinschool.

PICNIC TIME

Can we dare to say it’s picnic season? Get ready for dining al fresco with this four-person picnic basket in Marly Vichy Blue. We love the classic blue gingham fabric and it features a large insulated compartment to keep food either warm or cool. The inside straps keep all in place, including the ceramic plates.

Priced at €139, find out more at Meadowsandbyrne.

DIVE IN

Ready to dive into life best reflects the theme that the Kildare Gallery used to create their latest garden at Bloom. Ruth Liddle, the co-owner of the gallery, tells us she has designed and will create a garden that is an immersive floral display. 

She says it is further elevated with modern, informal design sculptures by Dawn Conn, whose theme is the essence of life. Her swimmer, Lily, is based on the Suffragette and pioneer open water swimmer Lily Smith, who was the first female swimmer to take part in the Richmond to Blackfriars race in 1904 when she was 17 years old. These sculptures and more will get their Irish debut at Bloom, following on from their Chelsea Flower Show launch and they’re available in the Kildare Gallery, Kildare Village for sale.

See TheKildareGallery for more.

MAY FAIR

Ballymaloe’s annual May Fair takes place over the weekend of May 12 to 14. Cooking demonstrations, workshops, tours and talks, music, theatre, fashion and children’s activities are just some of the attractions on offer on the grounds of Ballymaloe. 

Showcasing makers and artists from all over the country, the weekend will be packed with activities like yoga and sound baths, fashion upcycling workshops, and sustainable cleaning products. The festival will also see a lineup of talks and walks on sustainability, local history and expertise about the Irish landscape and wildlife. To find out more, visit  Ballymaloegrainstore.

OUTDOOR LIVING

With summer just around the corner, Arnotts has unveiled its outdoor living offering, a mix of pieces to create a space to relax and entertain alfresco. Beautiful designs have launched from key brands including HAY, Fatboy, and Briscoes available to shop instore and online at Arnotts.

Pictured here is the Rathwood Wroxham mini corner sofa set, for €1,699.

BOXING CLEVER

Ever wonder about buying a product online and getting it delivered in a box that seems bigger than necessary? We were very interested to find out that when any Joico (their YouthLock product range, pictured here, recently landed), Olaplex, and Alfaparf Milano Professional product samples arrive in large cardboard boxes, it’s because they re-use the original product boxes that arrive in the warehouse from several different companies. 

The warehouse endeavours to select the smallest boxes for small items, but it depends on what is available at the time to reuse. The air cushion mat they use is from activiaAir and is environmentally friendly, 100% recyclable and reusable. Every little bit helps.