NAME THAT NEPTUNE: They started in a back garden in Wiltshire 10 years ago, making comfortable garden hammocks, but very quickly John Sims-Hilditch and Giles Redman developed a company called Neptune, now known for well-made, good-looking deckchairs and garden furniture.
Then they moved indoors. Today Neptune makes handsome wooden kitchen and table-top furniture that combines traditional methods of mortise and tenon assembly with modern adhesives. Fittings and ironmongery are either chromed brass or treated steel. Paint finishes include their standard limestone as well as burnt red, Tuscan olive and midnight blue. I came across the range in the Orchard Home and Garden Centre in Celbridge, Co Kildare, and thought the kitchen dressers, "housekeepers' cupboards" and bookcases particularly attractive. Given the standard of finish (drawers are dovetail jointed with solid brass hinges), they are well priced, at about €635 for an open rack dresser and up to €2,899 for a Chichester Grand bookcase. The furniture also includes dining chairs with washable suede or leather upholstery from €199 and two-seat sofas for €495. Neptune's range is also for sale at branches of Avoca. Deirdre McQuillan
IT'S A WRAP: Wraptures, the shop at the bottom of Francis Street, Dublin 8, that sells fine notepaper and related goods, will close next Sunday, January 29th. Lee Dillon, its owner, is moving to New York, but will first reduce everything in the shop by between 50 and 75 per cent. Beautiful things on sale at bargain prices will include sumptuous stationery, handmade Indian giftwrap based on sari designs, fine silk ribbons, Venetian glass quills, leather photo albums, beaded journals and witty cards. The collection of loose-leaf stationery and rubber stamps, as well as ink-pads, embossing powders and paper shapers, may be of interest for brides-to-be who wish to make their own invitations. The final-week opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Friday 10.30am to 6pm, Thursday 10.30am to 7pm, and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm. Eoin Lyons
EARLY START FOR ART: It's never too early to get your children interested in art, especially now Galway Arts Centre is running an art course for two-year-olds. The Terrific Twos club is a parent-and-toddler art group in which very young children get a chance to try out painting, drawing, collage and lots of other techniques, all under the direction of facilitator Ruby Wallis. The course begins on Tuesday, January 31st (10.30am-noon) and runs for 10 weeks (€105/€95). It's just one of many courses being offered by the arts centre this spring; as well as art classes for older children, there are courses for adults in life drawing, still life, photography, art history, creative writing and poetry. To book a class call 091-565886. More information: www.galwayartscentre.ie. Eimear McKeith
BEST BEDS: Nancy Duffin of Bottom Drawer, the bed and bath shop in Brown Thomas, Dublin, has opened another concession, this time at the department store's Cork branch. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the family-run business (daughters Arlene and Lisa, and son Ray, are also involved) will bring some of the world's best bed linen to the city. Check out Italian company Frette, Portuguese brand Piu-belle and fashion names such as Missoni and Blumarine. Some prices may seem high, but the long life of these top-quality products compensates for the initial outlay. Think, too, about the comfort and sense of well-being a smartly dressed bed can provide. Take a look, too, at the Claus Porto bath products at the shop, packaged in art-deco patterns and used by Nicole Kidman and Christy Turlington. Eoin Lyons
GETTING HITCHED WITHOUT A HITCH: Most bridal shops recommend allowing six months for a wedding dress to be completed, so if you're a summer bride you really need to be making the big decision in the next few weeks. From February 2nd to February 4th, the White Room in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, has a representative from Italian couturier Peter Langner in the store, where an extended selection of gowns will be available as part of the launch of Langner's collection in Ireland. See www.peterlangner.it and view the other labels available at www.thewhiteroom.ie. Sorting the dress is a relief, but if you're still finding things stressful, Rosemarie Meleady offers wedding-planning packages from as little as €199. "Couples are sometimes their own worst enemy when it comes to costs," she says. "I know of wedding vendors who were offering great deals, but couples felt the reduced price meant reduced quality, which was not the case." Meleady's "memories" package - a photographer, videographer and wedding co-ordinator for €2,500 - is available to the first 12 couples who book it. See www.theweddingplanner.ie or e-mail rosie@theweddingplanner.ie. Clare McCarthy
PETAL POWER: Blooming from the friendship of two florists, Antique Flower Garden is a small shop in Blackrock, Dublin, combining flowers with home accessories. Owners Avril Browne and Clodagh Hoey, who are known for their green and white arrangements in lovely stone pots, present their flowers "the way they appear in the home" rather than in the conventional grouping by species in buckets. They base their style on the famous Flamant florist in Paris. They make up traditional bouquets, however, and also sell potted bulbs such as hyacinths and cyclamen along with lamps, pots, mirrors and other accessories. Hoey, whose sister is the fashion designer Sharon Hoey, is an avid gardener; Browne started making arrangements from garden flowers at home as a child. Though they can provide colour, it's the green and white combinations that customers generally prefer; even at Christmas they only stocked white poinsettias. The shop is at 12 Brookfield Avenue, off Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin (01-2143533). Deirdre McQuillan
SEA VIEWS: Venturing Back, by photographer Tim Hetherington, pictures Muslim schoolgirls playing in the sea at Colombo in Sri Lanka, 10 months after the tsunami washed up on the shores, taking 30,000 people with it. This photograph, named by Time magazine as one of the best of the year, is part of a new exhibition, Every Time I See the Sea. The show, by Christian Aid at Christ Church, Dublin 8, includes photography, children's art and masks, as well as personal testimonies that show how the people of Sri Lanka have been recovering from the disaster, just over a year ago. The charity is also trying to show how it has spent the €4.5 million that it raised in Ireland in the troubled northern region of Jaffna. The exhibition runs until
February 3rd. Nicoline Greer
FOR ONE ACT (AND FOUR NIGHTS) ONLY: There's nothing like a competition for creating excitement and a bit of drama. The 29th Bray One Act Drama Festival kicks off at Mermaid Arts Centre on Wednesday night and runs for four nights. Eleven local amateur-drama groups will battle it out in a competition judged by actor and director Imelda McDonagh. You can expect a wide variety of plays, from a comedy by Hugh Leonard to an Irish-language drama by Máirtín Ó Cadhain. Three one-act plays will be performed each night from Wednesday to Friday; on Saturday two performances will be followed by the announcement of the winner. Tickets €12/10 from 01-2724030. Eimear McKeith