The annual National Craft & Design Fair at RDS is a huge one-stop-shop for all your Christmas gifts.  It is not just craft and design, there’s also a massive Foodhall filled with inspirational ideas for your winter dining and entertaining.  For your convenience we have curated a list of the cream of the crop designers and crafters….

So if your time at the fair is limited, just visit the stands that we have carefully selected for you, that of course after you have filled up on Dr.Coy’s Nutritional Chocolate at Stand S25 in the Foodhall!

It wasn’t easy to pick such a small selection from more than 500 designers, artists and crafters. The choice of great ceramics alone will make your head spin. One of our favourites is the colourful and fun creations by Grainne Watts like the Beast shown here and the raku fired ceramic fish by Thomas Wollen; one of these has been adorning our bathroom wall for a few years now. You cannot walk past KaroArt’s stall and not fall in love with her bright playful ceramic designs.  We also love the great little pinch pots by Sinéad Lough Ceramics and the amazingly textured Volcanic vases by Michele Hannah.

For wood; the woodturner Roger Bennett’s work is very elegant and distinctive with an incredible attention to detail. Drop by and see him wearing one of his own signature brooches – this is how a man should wear one!

Some of our favourite jewellery is Eily O’Connell’s slightly eerie jewellery inspired by nature which is irresistibly beautiful. Otherwise Chupi is a great choice for a more day-to-day pieces, their ‘13 Is My Lucky Number Necklace’ is probably on every girls wish list. We also adore the playful minimalist jewellery by Loulou Grenelle, especially the Carnival Cat range.

Another must have are the luxurious soft shawls by The Simple Things made of the finest Peruvian alpaca wool in an array of beautiful colours.

For practical household items you can’t go wrong with the printed mugs from Sealed with Irish Love or the colourful tea towels from Ursula Celano whose modern prints are all inspired by traditional Irish imagery.

The Jam Art Factory has a great collection of designers under one roof; we like the laser cut products by Alljoy and the adorable fuzzy felt creatures by The Wool Felt Shop such as the baby penguins seen here.

You will be spoiled for choice at Guadalupe Creations stand, from creative cushions and baby bonnets to soft toys and Christmas decorations. Guadi also makes custom felt artwork modelled on a photograph of your choice.

For unique Christmas cards and decorations head to the SNOW stand, you will find interesting laser cut goodies there.   And lastly you just must see the work of Ewe Sir: Molly’s needle felting technique is so mesmerizingly realistic that it needs to be seen. The prints of her work are also so good that it is hard to distinguish from the original work. Stock up on Molly’s adorable cards and notebooks as well.

We hope to see you t Dr.Coy’s Health Foods stand (#25) too where we will have nutritional chocolate and organic virgin coconut oil for tasting as well as all our range and healthy eating gift hampers for sale.

We have some tickets to give away so please email us at info(at)drcoys.ie