Our favourite free daily e-mail about fashion, food and culture, from www.dailycandy.com, has been turned into a book of witty quizzes, stories, charts and tips, with gorgeous illustrations and a lot of sharp laughs. Like hearing from your clever, unpredictable and totally-in-the-know best friend. Daily Candy A to Z: An Insider's Guide to the Sweet Life is published by Collins, €15
TABLE TALK
Ireland is being put on the mat by the Irish
Historical Picture Company, which will print photographs of more
than 300 towns on table mats and coasters. (Oh, so that's what
Galway looked like before it was obscured by traffic.) It has
thousands of images to choose from, in sepia or hand-tinted
colours.
A good gift idea for historians and sentimentalists. The
company is at 5/6 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1. Call 01-8720144 or
see
www.irishhistoricalpics.ie.
TINNY TURNED TABLEWARE
This napkin ring, made from a recycled stout can, is
the work of Derek McGarry, who is acting head of the ceramic, glass
and metals departments at the National College of Art & Design
and an award-winning craftsman and lecturer. Following a family
holiday in Spain, McGarry was so taken by the colour and graphic
impact of Spanish beer cans that he made prototypes back home,
recycling the cans with machined aluminium. Now he has been
commissioned by the National Museum of Ireland to make a set of six
napkin rings using Irish beer and stout cans for permanent
exhibition at Collins Barracks. He intends to develop the idea; in
the spring he'll start a collection of barbecue tools and
tableware.
In the meantime he has made a number of colourful pendants in
the same manner, using recycled cans on waxed cotton necklaces, and
is planning to start turning materials such as waste paper and card
into other design items. McGarry works to commission; the bespoke
napkin rings are about €250 each, the pendants €50-75.
Contact him at 01-6364240.
Deirdre McQuillan
A MEDLEY OF MISCELLANIES
Ben Schott has much to answer for. Ever since his
Schott's Original Miscellany became a money-churner, book after
book has copied the idea in one way or another. Some shamelessly
attempt to mimic its distinctive mock-vintage design. Others don't
even bother. One thing they all have in common is that none matches
up to the meticulousness, wit and enjoyable irrelevancy of Schott's
book.
But still they keep coming. This Christmas has seen a
particular jump in the number of Irish-themed books. The Irish
Companion by Brendan Nolan (Think Books, €14.95), the most
obvious of the band-wagon jumpers, is a mix of amusing quotes,
brief histories, interesting facts, uninteresting facts and
pointless "old pictures, new captions". Less visually attractive
but a little more focused is Foster's Irish Oddities: A Miscellany
of Strange Facts by Allen Foster (New Island, €12.50), which
features pithy tales, from the 1,300 biscuits found in Cork to the
mirage of a mysterious city seen in Connemara for three hours in
1908. Finally, there is David Kenny's Erindipity: The Irish
Miscellany (Mentor, €15) which features 125 of Ireland's
biggest, longest, worst and so on. It at least offers some of the
author's personality along with the factoids.
Shane Hegarty
ANOTHER EDEN
After months of hype, promises and false starts,
Bellinter House, in
Co Meath, opened yesterday. The hotel - boutique rural chic -
is owned by Eoin Foyle, Jay Bourke and John Reynolds, who have a
solid record in bars (Bodega, Market Bar), clubs (Pod,
Rí-Rá), restaurants (Eden, Café Bar Deli) and hotels
(Grafton House). Most of the 37 rooms, a pool and a second Eden
restaurant are open; the spa and cinema follow next year.
Introductory offers on
www.bellinterhouse.com.
IN THE ENO
The IFSC, in Dublin 1, is becoming the place for
oenophiles to go. Not for from Ely's impressive CHQ development,
Enowine is launching a wine bar at its new premises in time for
Christmas, serving "simple food designed to complement the wine".
Thirty-five of the 130 or so wines are available by the glass.
Joe Breen
SLEEVE NOTES
Cashmere fiends should check out the Pure Collection
for men and women, either online at www.purecollection.com or by
sending for its mail-order catalogue. There are great colours,
smart shapes and good accessories for winter sports, including
snoods, throat warmers, gloves and hats and scarves. With stripy
long wrist warmers (right), you can keep fingers free for mobile
phones, iPods and other essentials, and tuck them inside at the
first sign of frostbite (£49). We also like the long
shawl-collared jacket, which can be worn with a belt (£179).
Sadly, the prices quoted are in sterling, but the company often has
special offers.
Patsey Murphy
FOOLISH FAIRY
It was the lime-green wellies (top right), fashioned
like Doc Martens, that lured us into the Foolish Fairy, on the main
street in Adare, Co Limerick. It's rare to find a shop full of
novelties these days; this one has an unexpected selection of
accessories and jewellery, chosen by its owner, Una McClure. With a
background in film and costume design, she has an imaginative eye.
She has sourced arty Perspex jewellery from Los Angeles, stunning
hand-made slippers from San Francisco and pearls made to her own
design. Her Christmas tree is decorated with small silk purses
fashioned like flowers. It's a tiny shop but one that's guaranteed
to make you smile. The wellingtons turned out to be Danish,
designed by Ilse Jacobsen. They come in red, black and yellow as
well as lime green, and they cost €99. (You can also find
them in Avoca shops.) Definitely worth a detour. Call 061-395800.
Patsey Murphy
JAMMY JAR
Wouldn't it be great to enjoy a romantic evening
meal lit by that day's sunlight? Now you can do just that, in a
manner of speaking, thanks to a New York-based designer named
Tobias Wong. He has produced the ultimate green gift in the Sun Jar
(right), a frosted preserving jar whose solar-charged battery
powers a gentle bulb for five hours a night. It's not terribly
practical, given that it lacks an on-off switch, but the Sun Jar's
novelty factor and good looks make it ever so desirable. The
€30 lamp has been selling quickly, so try www.suck.uk.com,
www.firebox.com and www.iwantoneofthose.com for supplies.