Designist Christmas Gift Collection 

Designist is an Irish-owned gift and homeware store, located on South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2. The store is a collaboration between Anne Lynott, Jennie Flynn and Barbara Nolan. 

Their stunning selection of products are all about representing the best of Irish and international design. This week we were invited to view their beautiful Christmas Gift Collection and it's impressive to say the least! They have something for everyone and every item in their store is special. Designist have a wide range of products which makes it a perfect place for Christmas shopping. Their stationary is to die for and we could spend hours looking at their homeware pieces!

Here are some of the pieces that caught our eye at today’s event:

●    The Citrus Clock 

BUY HERE

This clock is from Irish company Blue Bridge Design and it was inspired by looking at cross sections of different items, from Fruit + Veg to large-scale architectural buildings. This clock is a section of a lemon, lime or orange. The segments of the fruit fit perfectly as hour indicators and creates a pleasing colourful rhythm. The clock is made by carefully layering Birch Plywood to create a unique wall clock that will catch people's attention. They also have a very handy chalk clock with a black blackboard paint finish you can customise as often as you like.

●  The Handmade Soap Company's range of 100% natural soy wax candles, scented with natural essential oils from plant and fruit extracts. 

BUY HERE

Guaranteed Irish and made in Slane, Co. Meath, by a former thatcher. Donagh has had psoriasis for years so really know the value of all natural ingredients. Available as Lemongrass and Cedarwood, Sweet Orange Basil and Frankincense, Grapefruit and May chang and Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme and Mint.

● Gin and Tonic cocktail making set.

BUY HERE

Gin has made a real comeback over the last couple of years and now Molecule-R, the leaders in molecular gastronomy has produced this Gin and Tonic cocktail making set that provides all you need to create stunning mixology creations. This gin kit contains all the ingredients and tools you need to create eye-catching cocktails and even deconstruct your drink into tasty caviar.

●   Dublin herbalists: 5 step facial collection 

BUY HERE

These products come in a lovely gift box and contain Every Day Cleaning Gel, Exfoliating Cleansing Gel, Restorative Gel Face Mask, Refreshing Facial Toner and Rejuvenating Face Cream - everything one needs for a full, natural facial. These products are lovingly blended and packed full of nutrients and goodness. 100% natural. Paraben free. 

YouOrganic Skincare is now available at designist, 68 South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2 (IRL)

le cool Dublin Walking Experience #5: 9th July 2011

One of the challenges we decided to set ourselves with the le cool experience is to keep exploring new areas of the city and attempt wherever possible not to confine ourselves to 'regular haunts'. This time Dublin 8 was in our sights.

We met at Portobello Bridge, did a head count, and made our way down South Richmond Street towards Wall and Keogh. Tea and sushi for starters. But not just any old Barry's Tea, the proprieter Oliver T Cunningham introduced us to his fantastically exotic selection of organic teas which he's amassed. An old wallpaper shop used to exist here. Now there's a real slice of transporting yourself to a hang-out you'd be raving about if you found it in Berlin. The secret is to sniff the lids of the jar. 

We briefly reminisced about Gig's Place - one of those you'd have to end up there at 5am to truly appreciate joints. It's shambling outside. One memory is of their most memorable art on the walls of the likes of Tina Turner, Michsel Jackson and Stevie Wonder. The flashback was hillarity at the time posing beside these. The hangover from the putrid wine was also remembered.

Across the road we went to The Crypt to meet Stephen 'Bird' Flanagan. We descended down the stairs into this wonderous hide-out for all things religious. Tabernacles, pews, chalices - you name it, Stephen has it. He told us of the characters that have come calling in to him (fax from Jesus in hand on one occasion), the spin-off business from providing props to productions such as The Tudors and he showed us the encased the slipper of Saint Oliver Plunkett. Quite the find.

From here, we admittedly slightly veered off path in our enthusiasm to show all assembled the scintillating fashion and food combo that is Dolls Botique and Bibis on Emorville Avenue. Heading town bound we dropped in on Barbara Nolan + Jennie Flynn, the duo behind the wonderful Designist store on George's Street. We'd featured them in le cool back in May so wanted to finally take the chance to hear some more of their story. Both these places illustrate the passion and risk-taking in the city we've been witnessing and the wonderful offshoots for us all when people are prepared to be passionate about what they love.

An intriguing contrast to this was our finale at the NamaLab. Ronan Murray introduced us to a number of the participants and ideas emanating from a postgraduate architectural initiative in DIT. le cool writer Kevin Breathnach had penned an article in le cool that week about it and we decided what better way to end this experience by embracing some of the wonderful and fanciful ways in which we can misfortune into hope.

Eclectic to say the least.