Knitwear designed and made in Ireland is becoming a rarity. Beacon Design knitwear, made in Baltimore, is the real deal, writes Deirdre McQuillan
Bebhinn Marten, the designer from Baltimore whose knitwear is shown here, comes from a family of distinguished artists in Cork. Her father was Seamus Murphy, author of Stone Mad, and her maternal grandfather was sculptor and painter, Joseph Higgins. But yarn rather than stone has been her material for the past 34 years. Beacon Design is one of the few knitwear companies that still design and manufacture in Ireland, and it is sheer determination that keeps her going. "Though my fingers and thumbs are telling the tale," she says.
Marten is modest about her skills - she likes to quote her father, who used to say "I am going out now to do a day's work with my little bit of talent" - and attributes her survival to a strong work ethic. Some 40 shops around the country have a steady customer base for her knits, both locals and tourists, and her collections strive to please both. "Customers like to know where things are made. People who come into the factory are intrigued by it," she says.
This season Marten has reinvented her collection by adding an extra sparkle to her tweedy yarns flecked with lurex and incorporating new designs and shapes in 100 per cent wool and in a viscose/silk mix. Colour and shape, followed by handle are her starting points with each collection, which is based around 20 designs in four colours and five sizes. Her most popular item this winter is a pink suit with scarf collar and panelled skirt, which also comes in black and denim. "Jackets are getting longer, and people now want knitwear they can wear to work and for evening," she says.
With knitwear so much in vogue this winter, it should be a good season for Marten, though it is her constant complaint that one fifth of the price of her garments goes on VAT. "You can make beautiful things, but they end up too expensive."
Unlike others in the industry, she has no interest in going to China for cheaper production costs; that's the price of staying in a beautiful environment such as Baltimore and resisting flights to Hong Kong. In the meantime, she has been joined in the business by her son Olan, who will help her to continue to keep Beacon Designs on its steady course.