THE ART OF LOVE:Valentine's Day may be just around the corner, but there's no need for single people to feel left out. The Original Print Gallery is hosting a "gallery-based singles night" on Friday. "It's an alternative Valentine's night," says gallery manager Crona Connolly.
"There's no real culture in Dublin for casually meeting like-minded people, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to create a sociable environment for meeting people." Along with the informal atmosphere, the combination of art, wine, chocolates and a DJ are sure to create a potent love potion. "It's a chance to walk up to a stranger and start talking to them," says Connolly. "If romance blossoms, well and good, but it's also just a place to meet people. That's what's often missing in Dublin - it can be hard to make new friends, and this will be an opportunity to do that." All this will take place against the backdrop of Tender, a group exhibition of delicate, "lovingly-produced" prints, one of which is reproduced above. So if you're an art-lover who WLTM a like-minded culture vulture, make your way to the Original Print Gallery, 4 Temple Bar, Dublin 2, next Friday, 6.30-8pm. See www.originalprint.ie Eimear McKeith
DAILY BREAD
It seems that the carb-counters have been seen off and that bread is back in vogue. But it's not any old pappy loaf we're tucking into. Bread baskets are overflowing with crusty, flavoursome sourdoughs, springy focaccia, toasty multigrains and loaves flavoured with everything from bacon to rosemary.
The La Brea Bakery was credited with initiating a "bread revolution" in the US in 1989, when chef Nancy Silverton began baking artisan breads to serve in her Los Angeles restaurant, Campanile. The breads were so good that the bakery outgrew the restaurant, and in 2001 Silverton sold the company to IAWS. The loaves are now manufactured throughout the US and in Ireland. Silverton (left) was in Dublin recently to launch the first La Brea Cafe outside the US, in Arnotts department store, Dublin 1. "This is the nicest extension of our brand I've seen," she said. Business is good, too, and the cafe was the third-best-performing department in the store over Christmas. If you'd like to have a go at making your own pain de campagne, sourdough, bagels and brioche, Christine Jordan is running an advanced bread-making workshop at her Tasteworks Cookery School in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, on Saturday, March 24th (10am-5pm; €150 including lunch). See www.tasteworks.net or call 059-9722786. La Brea breads are available from some branches of Tesco, SuperValu, Spar and Fresh shops, as well as some speciality food shops, such as Country Kitchen in Howth, Co Dublin. Marie-Claire Digby
HOLDEN YOUR OWN
Are you tired of mass-produced handbags? Uncomfortable buying southern-hemisphere goods of unknown origin? Or do you live in dread of that "fashion snap" moment, when your friend turns up at the party sporting the same garment/accessory as you?
The bags made at Holden Leathers in Dingle, Co Kerry, will free you from all these concerns. They are handmade and come in a range of styles, shapes and vibrant colours - red, purple, blue, green - that should ensure you stand out from the crowd. Some production runs are as small as 20, so they're about as near as you can get to unique without actually killing a crocodile and fashioning your own mála.
The company is run by Conor Holden and his partner Claire Griffin. Their handbags, travel cases, wallets and satchels can be found in Helen McAlinden's Number 6 shop in Castle Market, Dublin 2; Kilkenny Design, Kilkenny; Westgate Design, Wexford; Lahinch Classics in Co Clare; Boyle's in Thurles, Co Tipperary; and Enibas in Schull and Kinsale, Co Cork.
Their own shop is on Main Street in Dingle (066-9151796). Check out the range at www.holdenleathergoods.com, or visit the workshop, next to Coláiste Íde, off the Slea Head Road on the Dingle Peninsula, and order a one-off purse or notebook to match your bag. Bag prices start at around €260.
WEAVING A STORY
A beautiful book called Weaving Tapestry in Rural Ireland, written by Meghan Nuttall Sayres, an American weaver of Irish origin, is an extensive and loving tribute to the work of Taipeis Gael in Donegal. This is a group of tapestry weavers committed to the preservation of spinning, weaving and dyeing wool who came together in 1993 to form a co-operative in Glencolumcille. The story of how their tapestry work developed, involving everybody from sheep farmers and wheelwrights to spinners and dyers, is the story of a community proud of their traditions and determined to preserve them. There are moving interviews with some of the founders and local historians, and profiles of each of the weavers and their work. Some produce figurative tapestries based on local folklore and scenery, while others are more abstract, showing the influences of their travels throughout Europe, north and central America and Australia. Though Taipeas Gael gave up its studio in 2005 through lack of funds, most of the weavers now work at home and continue to hold joint and solo exhibitions. The book is handsomely illustrated with photographs by Laurence Boland. Weaving Tapestry in Rural Ireland is published by Cork University Press, €39. Deirdre McQuillan
I WANT ONE OF THOSE
We can't wait to get our hands on an iPhone - although we'd rather they were a bit cheaper, and we're not sure about texting with a touch-screen keyboard - but as the teases at Apple won't have them ready until much later in the year, we're making do in the meantime with this nifty cut-and-fold version. In the right light, and at the right angle, it'll be the envy of your friends. It's at www.sneakmove.com/images/diy_iphone-editable.pdf. Liam Stebbing
A NEW CHAPTER
Parnell Street, not generally known for its bookshops, now houses the country's largest independent bookseller. Chapters closed down in Middle Abbey Street two weeks ago, and is now based in the Ivy Exchange Building, near the corner of Moore Street, Dublin 1. The ground floor is devoted to new books, while secondhand books and remaindered titles are on the upper level. There are 25,000 sq ft of books, and pleasant staff to help you find your way. It's open from 9.30am to 6.30pm weekdays (until 8pm on Thursdays) and from 12 noon to 6.30pm on Sundays. An on-line service is being developed. Inquiries to 01-8723297. Patsey Murphy
COUNTING YOUR CARBONS
Perfectly timed, this. Collins has published a pocket-sized guide to help you calculate your carbon footprint. It includes sound, everyday suggestions for saving energy at home and work, and an all-important diary where you can tot up your guilty total every day. Did you really buy those green beans from Kenya? It's UK-oriented, alas, but has useful lists of the best appliances and household products etc, as well as good websites and travel advice. The Carbon Counter by Mark Lynas costs £4.99 (in UK). Patsey Murphy
HOT CHOCS
"Take your hands off the box and nobody gets hurt" . . . that's what it says on the stylish new designer chocolates from Avoca, made in Ireland, and wrapped up with the same kind of arty, bohemian flair that you expect from Pratt Inc. They come in three sizes, costing from €12.95 to €21.95. Not a yucky coffee or orange creme in box sight. From Avoca shops nationwide. Patsey Murphy
VALENTINE'S BALL
One of the most talked-about St Valentine's Balls is the annual fund-raiser for the National Breast Cancer Research Institute at NUI Galway. This year's hooley will be at the Ardilaun House Hotel on February 10th. Tickets are scarce, but you can call 091-524390 for cancellations
BROUGHT TO BROOK
Valentine's Day is perfectly positioned in the calendar to give us a well-earned treat at winter's end. Save yourself the bother and stress of trawling the shops to find the perfect present for your loved one. Instead, how about a break at the BrookLodge Hotel, where you can indulge yourself and your loved one in the Wells Spa and focus on romance. Valentine's packages are available from February 11th to 15th. Treatments include the Serail Mud Bath for two, and for couples who really want to get away from it all, you can have your treatments side by side in a cabin in the woods, finishing off with a romantic dinner in the Strawberry Tree restaurant. Such has been the success of all this canoodling that they've had to expand their wedding capacity, with The River Room due to open this spring. Prices start at €140pps. BrookLodge, Macreddin Village, Co Wicklow, 0402-36444, www.brooklodge.com. Phyl Clarke
COUNTING YOUR CARBONS
Perfectly timed, this. Collins has published a pocket-sized guide to help you calculate your carbon footprint. It includes sound, everyday suggestions for saving energy at home and work, and an all-important diary where you can tot up your guilty total every day. Did you really buy those green beans from Kenya? It's UK-oriented, alas, but has useful lists of the best appliances and household products etc, as well as good websites and travel advice. The Carbon Counter by Mark kLynas costs £4.99 (in UK). Patsey Murphy