Kilkenny: A World Craft Destination

Cartoon Saloon was established in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore, and Nora Twomey. It is a world-renowned animation studio with an astounding 5 Academy Award nominations. 

The Kilkenny-based studio has had many award wins including the BAFTAs and the Emmys.  The studio produces brave stories with beautifully animated shorts, feature films, and TV series’.

Their animations are inspired the beauty and history of Ireland, often putting an important emphasis on the Irish language.

Every Autumn Cartoon Saloon hosts Kilkenny Animated, a festival of storytelling that features exhibitions, talks and performances to celebrate the endless creativity of animation.

They host workshops to encourage young people to use their unique imaginations to invent new characters and stories.

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of Cartoon Saloon and there’s a lot to celebrate! From starting small and experimenting with the craft as they were fresh out of college to working with big names like Netflix and Angelina Jolie to produce moving and visually pleasing features. 

Six generations of the Cushen family have dedicated themselves to crafting superior quality textiles in the town of Graiguenamanagh for over 240 years. A woollen mill has operated on their site since 1204 when Cistercian monks founded an abbey in Graiguenamanagh.

The town’s Irish name, “Gráig na Manach,” translates to “Village of the Monks.” Graiguenamanagh’s deep connection with wool and textiles originates from its abundant natural resources of water and fertile land. The monks crafted wool, yarns, and cloth here before them across Europe. 

Cushendale exists in Ireland as a “way things used to be” in the modern world of hyper-consumerism. With skilled craftspeople using traditional weaving techniques to create sustainable, slow-fashion items that are handmade with care.

They work with 100% natural fibres during a time when oil-based synthetic fibres, such as polyester and nylon, dominate our world. They believe in sustainable, biodegradable natural fibres that are kinder to our bodies and to the environment. 

Cushendale’s wool was used to make the traditional jumpers seen on Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in the Oscar-nominated film, The Banshees of Inisheerin.

Jerpoint Glass was established in Stonyford by Keith and Kathleen Leadbetter in 1979. Keith was always enamoured by the world of craft, initially starting off as a potter before training as a glassblower in the prestigious Orrefors Glass School in Sweden. He travelled around Europe learning different techniques before settling back in Kilkenny and opening Jerpoint glass in their converted barn studio. 

Kathleen is a self-taught artist who is passionate about design. She created the unique coloured glass palette that is now synonymous with Jerpoint Glass. The pastel colours breaking the norm from other glassware products on the shelves.

The Leadbetters passed on their love and skill of glassblowing to their four children, who are experts in their craft. Drawing on inspiration from the Romans that developed the skill of glassblowing over 2000 years ago, Rory Leadbetter (Keith’s son) seamlessly transforms red hot molten glass into stunning glass creations before your very eyes. 

Visitors to the glass studio and shop can view the glassblowing free of charge during working hours.

After moving into a studio in the Castle Craft Yard in 2021, husband and wife team, Douglas and Tracey Higgins began creating gloriously scented sustainable candles. With aims to combat common candle problems such as candle tunnelling, evaporating fragrances and significant candle sooting, they undertook hours of research to find suitable materials to find solutions to these issues. Now, their eco-friendly soy candles have FSC certified wooden wicks, with incredible vegan fragrance oils! Wired Irish Crafts host regular candlemaking workshops in their studio in the city but if you can’t make it in-person, grab a candle making kit from their website and create your own luxury candles at home!

Kilkenny Crystal, based near Callan, County Kilkenny was founded in 1969 by Patrick Clancy and is one of Ireland’s oldest family-owned crystal studio workshops. While he waited for the equipment for his new studio to arrive, he began moulding a prototype of one of his designs out of clay. This prototype was ‘The Castle Vase’ which eventually became his signature piece.

Paddy decided to explore designs that other crystal makers had never looked at such as florals, Celtic patterns and castles. During this time, the design on crystal pieces were limited so Paddy never imagined having his pieces sought out by crystal collectors and producers. Paddy’s workshop was small, placing emphasis on the time and detail that went into creating the pieces, this amazed the larger crystal producers who had hundreds of people working for them. 

At the studio each piece is given dedication, care and time to create. Kilkenny Crystal specialises in deep accurate cutting, using cutting wheels with a very high angle to carve the pattern. These traditional methods gave accuracy and details, something that had faded with the introduction of modern carving techniques.

Based in the heart of the Medieval city, in what was once the stables of the adjacent Kilkenny Castle, the Kilkenny Design Centre is a haven of handcrafted Irish gifts. Stocking legends in the Irish fashion scene such as Lennon Courtney and Orla Kiely, Kilkenny Design Centre is your one stop shop for all things Irish. 

Pick up your favourite Kilkenny-made products from Nicholas Mosse pottery, a great gift for all your friends and family, with unique hand painted designs inspired by the Irish landscape.

There is a world renowned selection of jewellery, knitwear, crystal, pottery and fashion accessories, as well as stunning one-of-a-kind design pieces!

As well as providing an impressive showcase for high quality Irish gifts and crafts, Kilkenny Design Centre is also home to an award-winning food hall and restaurant which serves delicious homemade treats daily.

Set in a former flour mill in Bennettsbridge, Nicholas Mosse Pottery was founded in 1976 by Nicholas and his wife, Susan. The mill houses their pottery studio, where you can watch their master craftspeople at work, creating their one-of-a-kind creations. 

Overlooking the River Nore, their café will lure you in for its terrific tea, coffee, scones and light lunches. They pride themselves on using simple local ingredients for their tasty treats, including flour that is milled by their cousin in the mill across the river!

Nicholas discovered his love of pottery and the craft of shaping when he was just 7 years old. His first ever piece is on display in their café in Bennettsbridge. It was a small white jug with yellow flowers that he painted for his mother. The jug that started it all…

Susan Mosse is the artist behind the nature-inspired designs that are synonymous with the Nicholas Mosse brand. She is a botanist and takes inspiration from the garden at the Mosse family homestead, Kilfane Glen & Waterfall located outside Thomastown.

Suzanna Crampton is a blanket-designing shepherd who works and lives on her small farm in the Nore Valley. Due to the small nature of her farm, she needed to find a breed of sheep that would best suit her acreage. When the National Ploughing Championships came to Kilkenny in 2008, she met her precious Zwartbles sheep for the first time and the journey started to becoming a shepherd!

With their strikingly black, sun bleached rich chocolate brown tips to their fleeces, a lovely white blaze down their faces and short white bobby socks. Zwartbles wool is thick and spongy, making it perfect for rugs and blankets.

She shears fleeces that are spun into yarn by Cushendale Woollen Mills. The Zwartbles wool blankets are sold via her farm and website and shipped internationally. 

Three months after her launch, The President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins chose Zwartbles Rugs as diplomatic gifts for his trip to South and Central America.

Suzanna isn’t just a shepherd though! She wrote Bodacious: The Shepherd Cat. From the perspective of her friendly farm cat, Bodacious, it is written about his life on the farm and all the adventures that it entails! 

The National Design & Craft Gallery was established by the Crafts Council of Ireland in 2000 and is Ireland’s leading centre for contemporary craft and design.

Headquartered in the heart of Kilkenny, the Design and Craft Centre exhibits a range of works by well-established and emerging Irish designers and makers. Situated in the Craft Yard, adjacent to the iconic Kilkenny Castle landmark, the Design and Craft Centre is home to a number of thriving craft and design businesses. 

The National Craft Gallery is one of the most exciting, artistic venues in the country. A commitment to excellence and innovation allows them to showcase some of the finest examples of contemporary craft. 

Entrance to the centre is free of charge and visitors can watch skilled craftspeople at work. See makers like Patrick Joseph, forge one-of-a kind knives at his workshop in the Craft Yard.

MADE in Kilkenny is a multidisciplinary craft group organised and run by its members on a voluntary basis with the mission to promote Kilkenny County as the premier destination in Ireland for authentic handmade Irish crafts of exceptional quality.

Kilkenny has had the reputation for being a centre of creativity in Ireland for decades and the MADE in Kilkenny movement has played a huge part to this perception over the last decade.

The group has brought together a valuable wealth of craft talent found in Kilkenny to a global audience, to nurture excellence in our craftsmanship, and to promote the economy and tourism of the county.

In 2009, MADE launched their Craft Trail project, allowing people to explore the wonderful designers and craftspeople that call Kilkenny home.

The Craft Trail Experience invites people to watch highly skilled  crafters at work, get an exciting hands-on experience as they discover the history and culture with some of Kilkenny’s most renowned craft providers, including Jerpoint Glass, Nicholas Mosse Pottery and Cushendale Woollen Mills.

In 1969, German-born Kilkenny-based master goldsmith, Rudolf Heltzel, set up his business crafting unique engagement rings and luxury pendants. He first came to Ireland to help revolutionise the craft industry. He eventually made Ireland his home, teaching goldsmithing classes in the Kilkenny Design workshops.

Hetzel’s son, Christopher, took over the business in 2010 after training to be a goldsmith, having spent years in the film industry. A creative soul, Christopher finds inspiration in everything. The commitment to finding balance between design and function results in a truly one-of-a-kind Irish piece.

They create amazing pieces that are exceptionally crafted in an ethical manner. Founder of Cartoon Saloon, Nora Twomey, wore Heltzel’s pieces on a world stage at the Golden Globes and Oscars. 

The Rudolf Heltzel pieces have been sought by jewellery manufacturers and collectors from all over the world. Take a look at the amazing collection at their store at 10 Patrick St. Gardens in the city.