Meath craft and design businesses set for Showcase 2025

Some of Meath’s best up and coming craft and design businesses will get a chance to meet with buyers from all over the world as part of Local Enterprise Showcase at the 2025 Showcase event in the RDS, running from the 19th – 21st January.

An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, the Local Enterprise Showcase is a special area at Showcase that houses a range of Ireland’s newest design talent.

Meath will be one of the best represented counties with six businesses exhibiting this year.

They include Marlese Made, which is the passion project of artist Marlese Louw, who transforms coloured clay into intricate, limited edition jewellery. Each piece is sculpted by hand from clay, which she custom mixes into seasonal palettes.

Brownstown Handmade is a small family run business based in Navan owned by Sarah and Shane McDonnell who will exhibit at Showcase for the first time. The business started in October 2021 after Sarah learned how to make candles during the Covid 19 Pandemic. This quickly expanded to wax melts, diffusers, hand cream, liquid soap and beard and massage balms.

Íon Candles based in Ratoath and owned by Nicola McMurray is a fragrances and candle business. Each Íon product is handcrafted and packaged in studio using sustainable materials.

Rebecca Maguire, founder of Púróga Pebble Art will also take part in Showcase for the first time, Rebecca has been crafting timeless artwork from nature’s treasures since 2020. Rebecca transforms pebbles, driftwood, and shells into meaningful designs that celebrate life’s special moments.

As a first-time exhibitor, Rebecca said: “I’m really excited to be attending Showcase and meeting with potential buyers, telling the story of my products. It is a great opportunity to connect with international buyers and introduce them to my business.”

Alison Fullam Gogan, owner of Boyne Valley Wools is a sheep farmer and weaver who lives and works from her farmhouse and craft studio nestled in the heart of the Boyne Valley. Alison will return to Showcase again this year with her wool crafts and authentic art pieces made from wool.

Alison said: “Coming back to Showcase again this year to connect with existing buyers and secure orders is always a wonderful start to the year. I’m particularly excited to exhibit with my business Boyne Valley Wools as this year, my wool has been chosen to be part of the set design for The Circle – which displays the best of Irish Crafts during the 50th anniversary of Showcase.”

Returning to Showcase 2025 after a successful attendance last year, co- founders of LUS Aromatherapy, Eileen Smyth and Paula McGuinness, are both certified aromatherapists with a commitment to living in balance with nature in a holistic way. LUS Aromatherapy will showcase their organic skin care range that is inspired by natural plant ingredients. LUS Aromatherapy Balms have been chosen as part of the Edit Collection at Showcase this year, which is a curation of many of the most beautiful and exciting products at the show.

The event, which is a pinnacle event in the global design and crafts calendar, will open its doors to thousands of buyers from across the world, including Ireland, the UK, USA, mainland Europe, Asia and Africa, generating millions of euros of sales orders during the show.

Other participants from Meath include the likes of Anita Reynolds Art & Design, An Gobha, Bríd Fanning Art, Clare O’Connor Luxury Irish Design. Other Meath businesses participating include Lainey K, The Handmade Soap Company and Caulfield Country Boards.

In 2024, there were thousands of national and international buyers in attendance at the event in the RDS and it is expected this will increase again in 2025.

Local Enterprise Office Meath has been working with Marlese Made, Brownstown Handmade Crafts, Íon Candles, Púróga Pebble Art, Boyne Valley Wools and LUS Aromatherapy, on merchandising for their stands, marketing, and sales techniques to ensure they maximise opportunities at the three-day event.

Meath County Council Chief Executive Kieran Kehoe said: “The Local Enterprise Showcase provides an excellent platform for craft designers and makers in Meath to display their work to a broad audience of national and international buyers. The skill and creativity demonstrated by all the businesses from Meath attending the Showcase are truly remarkable, and their contributions to the local economy throughout the county deserve recognition and applause.

“The product offerings from some of Meath's top creative businesses demonstrate that high-quality products designed and made in the Boyne Valley can effectively compete for retail space in shops across Ireland and around the world.”

Caoimhe Delany, Business Advisor at Local Enterprise Office, Meath, believes this is a fantastic opportunity for up-and-coming craft and design clients looking to develop sales for the year ahead. “With over 3,000 buyers coming through the doors of Showcase last year, this is a phenomenal opportunity for our creative businesses in Meath to secure orders, meet with retailers and develop business relationships with buyers overseas. Each one of the Meath businesses have put in great effort into getting themselves and their product offering right for Showcase."

This year, all Local Enterprise Showcase clients were entered into the Business of Craft Awards which will take place Monday, 20th January at Showcase in the RDS as part of the overall event.