Our Blog

Published on September 23, 2022

I’m Aurore Soleillant and my shop is Artnsol Creations. I sell knitted and crochet items, dreamcatchers and jewellery. My biggest sellers are octopus teddies, baby cardigan sets, celebrity dolls, pet teddies and Christmas and Halloween earrings. I’ve been with ShopInIreland from the beginning. I really liked the idea of supporting local businesses and showing my creations to a bigger audience. It’s really helped to get my business out there more and be able to make a living from my work. ShopInIreland is such a lovely community of crafters and little Irish businesses where you can find unique items and there is something for everyone. I’d never sold anything online before as I couldn't get the reach with my own Facebook and Instagram accounts. I went from barely selling one thing every month or every other month to now being quite busy from shopinireland and it pushed me to do more markets as I saw the support I got on the Facebook page.

Published on September 22, 2022

I’m Helen from Rosie Bags Accessories. I create handcrafted bags, ceramics, knitwear and jewellery. I’ve been on ShopInIreland for a year and I believe it has huge potential and I want to be part of it as it grows. It is a great site to sell all handcrafted products and it has taught me to sell all my handcrafts in confidence. In the future, I plan to expand my range of products and learn how to promote my business more.

Published on September 16, 2022

I’m Jo from Pretty Cute Knits. I sell knit and crochet clothing for babies and children. I joined ShopInIreland in 2021. The site is easy to use, the process is smooth and the vendors are talented! It has helped me to reach a wider audience, upskill and learn about marketing and promotion. I really like the community and the support from the team has been amazing. My best-selling products are baby blankets, hats and cardigans and going forward I’d like to grow my business and reach more customers and develop modern and unique baby and children’s wear.

Published on September 12, 2022

I’m Sharon Williams from Airy Fairy Designs and I make handcrafted vintage-inspired handbags with handsewn floral Appliques. I joined ShopInIreland in November 2020 and it’s a wonderful platform for my creations and really supports Irish artists and crafters. ShopInIreland is a wonderful platform for my business and has got me sales that I would never have got without it. It takes care of looking after the financial side without the seller having to deal with it personally.

Published on September 09, 2022

I’m Deirdre Burton and my business is Breaking Clouds Art and Design. I sell original art and prints of the same and wood turned bowls, handcrafted chopping boards, platters, soap holders, incense holders and egg and toast boards, created by my partner Mike Flynn. I joined ShopInIreland in August 2021 because I wanted to sell my products on an Irish website that was prominently for handmade products.

Published on September 05, 2022

I’m Anne Costello and my business is Precious Gifts. I sell gifts for her and gifts for babies. I joined ShopInIreland in early 2021. I knew it was a platform that would showcase my products and shop to a wide and diverse audience. My best sellers are gift boxes and gift baskets for women with a pampering and wellness theme and new baby gift boxes. I plan to continue to add new ranges to my shop and I have just launched my own Irish Brand 'Heartlands' a Luxury Irish-made natural Soy Candle & Wax Melts Gift Box. ShopInIreland is a great a one-stop shop for all wonderful the Irish businesses that you can't find on the high street.  Traders on the platform are passionate about what they do and are prepared to grow with ShopInIreland and whatever direction it takes. We are a resource of Irish entrepreneurs who know what it takes to work hard to get to where we want and collectively anything is possible.  I have learned a lot since joining ShopInIreland. ShopInIreland’s advertising reach and collective spend mean I am targeting customers I would never have access to without spending thousands. The expertise of the owners and ShopInIreland staff is priceless.

Published on September 01, 2022

I’m Nadia Zorzetto and my business is Yoganamara. I make handmade eye pillows for relaxation, headache and migraine relief, to aid sleep routines and soothe tired eyes. I also make sensory chewing necklaces for individuals with sensory needs and I also sell services in the form of online Yoga classes (both one-to-one and group sessions). I’ve been on ShopInIreland since September 2021. I wanted to give my products more visibility under the umbrella of a business that promotes and supports small Irish businesses. My bestsellers are the eye pillows and the sensory chewing necklaces, which started as a custom product following a request from a mum of a child with autism who was looking for fabric necklaces. Going forward, I plan to grow the presence of my products on ShopInIreland – and definitely give more visibility to the chewing necklaces as this product has great potential.  

Published on August 26, 2022

I’m Hananja from Alzera Design. We’re a husband and wife team. We started out in Dad’s garage as a hobby. We loved designing jewellery so much we wanted to share it with the world and decided to take our hobby a step further. We use sterling silver as our main medium and always look around for new fun materials to incorporate in our next jewellery piece. Alzera Design gives a unique twist to everyday jewellery. We create modern pieces for the ordinary, bold and courageous individual. With the pieces we make we do not only use sterling silver but combine it with mixed materials such as wood, resin and recycled materials as well as different alloys such as Zirconium. Because every piece is hand made no piece will ever look the same. ShopInIreland has become such a good marketplace for Irish handmade - It gave us the exposure we needed. People really do love supporting local businesses. We are currently busy creating our bog-wood collection and it is going faster than we can make it.  :-)

Published on August 24, 2022

I’m Eddie Conor Byrne and my business is Eddie’s Glass Studio. I create fused glass designs that range from homeware to jewellery. I’ve been with ShopInIreland from the beginning.  The platform and idea appealed to me as an Irish-based company helping promote Irish crafters and sellers. My best-selling items are glass jewellery, memorials, led lights and pocket angels. My plans for the future are to grow my business into a well-known brand and I’m also incorporating my laser cutting with my glass business. ShopInIreland.ie is an amazing platform. The website is very easy to use and the ShopInIreland team are 100% behind the crafters and sellers.  

Published on August 19, 2022

I’m Lisa Smith and my business is Lapis Jewellers. We sell handmade Jewellery with natural gemstones in 9, 14, 18ct. gold and 925 silver. We’ve been with ShopInIreland.ie since it began. We were all struggling with the effects of closures due to covid. ShopInIreland was developed and I joined as a way to start selling online. My Inspiration from Nature Collection are necklaces I made from things I started to notice in nature during lockdown walks and we have a lovely range of Connemara Marble pieces in Sterling Silver. We also sell beautiful handmade Claddagh pieces set with gemstones and diamonds. I’ve enjoyed learning and working with the platform and I’m going to continue to create lovely products and selling on ShopInIreland.

Published on August 15, 2022

My name is Emer and my shop is Crafty Monkeys. I sell bespoke embroidered products for all the family. This includes children’s birthday t-shirts, sibling shirts, christening shawls, vests and bibs, pet items and much more. Some of my bestsellers are dog blankets, personalised tote bags and personalised aprons. I’ve been on ShopInIreland.ie since February 2021 - I loved the ethos and wanted to support local myself by selling through a local site. Going forward I’m continually investing in the business to expand the range and types of products on offer. I’m currently in the process of expanding the baby products I offer, the range t-shirts and tops are next in line for expansion. Shop In Ireland is a great site and there are lots of amazing talents and sellers on it. It’s always my first point of call when looking for gifts myself and I’ve bought many items through the site myself. It’s allowed me to reach a wider audience and has done amazing things to help expand my business.

Published on August 08, 2022

My name is Carmel and my shop is The Woolly Drawer. I sell handknit first year baby clothing items and specialise in baby Aran. I’ve been on shopinireland.ie from the beginning. It offered me the opportunity to sell to a wider audience, gave me greater exposure, allowed me to expand my collection and most importantly, increase sales. Shop In Ireland focuses on businesses within Ireland supporting them to excel at their trade. Shop In Ireland has our backs and advise and include us in new things which may come on board. The website has made things extremely easy for me so much so I only sell now from the website. I don't have to send numerous messages back and forth about sizes, colours, payments, postage, queries. It's a serious time-saver for me as I need my hands working on my products. My best-selling products are handknit baby Aran jacket and hat sets, handknit baby cardigans, new-born three-piece gift sets and santa and Jack hats. In the future I plan to expand on different types of baby Aran and increase my already large selection of colours. People like variety and the chance to select new things and different colours. One day I’ll sell my own patterns too - when I find time to write them up! I ought to add that I have also purchased from Shop In Ireland many times too and everything received was amazing!    

Published on February 17, 2022

Joe’s Jotter: Grade Inflation 2022 - Startling Subject Statistics   With Leaving Certificate grades ‘apparently’ rising recently, I decided to do my own comparison analysis of Leaving Certificate results from the years 2018 and 2021 as per Table 1 below. Over 90% of students sat 245,850 leaving cert papers in 2021. In comparing the written papers that the students sat against the accredited grades given by their schools, the results show that 68% of accredited grades were inaccurate (i.e. they were at least a grade out compared to what the student scored in their June sit down exams). Firstly, this margin of error is way too high to endorse the ‘Accredited Grades’ process. Upon looking closer at this data, the percentage of students scoring a H4 or above in 2021 (A H4 is between 60% and 70% at higher level) has produced very surprising results. What amazed me from looking at the statistics was how grades in nearly all subjects have jumped in three short years. Across the twelve subjects I sampled, the average increase (H4 grades or above) when comparing LC 2018 to 2021 was an eye watering 14%. This is substantial. Table 1: The percentage of students that scored a H4 or above in LC 2021 and LC 2018* Sample Subject Percentage of Students achieving a H4 or above(2021 Bolded) (2018 Bracketed) Music 95% (89%)  +6% Technology 83% (72%) +11% Engineering 78% (70%) +8% Irish 84% (70%) +14% Design and Communication Graphics (DCG) 88% (70%) +18% Home Economics (S&S) 82% (68%) +14% Accounting 84% (63%) +21% Biology 73% (61%) +12% Chemistry 80% (61%) +19% Maths 73% (60%) +13% Politics and Society 74% (59%) +15% Physics 78% (59%)  +19% *Source: Data from www.examinations.ie From this data, my feeling is that you cannot compare Leaving Cert students who completed exams before 2018 to the 2020 or 2021 cohort; and of course we are doing so. This throws up a lot of questions about where our education system is going. It seems serious inconsistency has set in, with a new benchmark set for future student results. Is it now a ‘medal for everyone’ mentality, with this seemingly watershed moment in 2020? How can we even compare Leaving Certificate results before and during/after the pandemic? To me this ‘Grade Inflation’ whiffs of optics and how Ireland’s PISA scores ‘need’ to compare globally. I feel that the department has taken the opportunity to ramp our scores right up under the darkness of pandemic cover. From the data and in my view, ‘Accredited grades’ hasn’t worked and isn’t a future option. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t welcome a Leaving Certificate review now, with a view to more continuous assessment. Adding Increased marking scheme flexibility to this emerging data, the bell curve has all but been eliminated, while shockingly some students who got the maximum 625 points in 2021 didn’t even get their first choice in college. If the model of the last two years remains in place for our 2022 6th years, many of these students will be heading to third level without having the experience of completing a State Exam. This will put them at an immediate disadvantage heading into first year. Students are scoring higher than ever now, but are they more knowledgeable than their predecessors? I doubt it. Radical percentage increases over such a short period of time like this doesn’t sit well with me at all. It may well stabilise itself in future years, but worryingly a new bar and paradigm has been set, and like everything that changes, the genie is out of the bottle now. See below for details about Joe as a Maths Tutor and his ACE Maths Solution Books 2022. ACE Maths Classes: acesolutionbooks.com/ace-maths-tuition ACE Maths Solution Books: acesolutionbooks.com/buy-my-books

Published on February 15, 2022

I made this cottage scene diorama nightlight for my Dad for his birthday. It was my biggest epoxy pour yet at around 1.5kg and definitely the most detailed project I've done so far. Makes me want to do more like this. I get so engrossed in painting the little miniatures, building out the scene and then finding a way to make it work as a night light. Check out the Youtube video of the make below... Now I need to come up with a plan for my next project so I can start stocking my store with more like this! Any suggestions?

Published on February 15, 2022

Joe’s Jotter: Choosing Subjects for 5th Year. Choosing subjects for 5th Year can be daunting enough, and soon many 3rd and all Transition (4th) year students will be faced with that task in school. A 4th year student will have had more time to contemplate options, and so sometimes make more considered choices than those coming straight from the Junior Cycle (3rd year), and this is something Parents need to be aware of. It is important to put some thought into how subject choices may influence career options later. Students should consult with all their teachers and ask them about the level of work that’s required for success in a given subject at a specific level. Third Level Considerations Students, If you have a third level course or career in mind, it is important now to do a little research into its content and investigate if there are any minimum entry requirements to gain access to it. All courses now have detailed descriptions of each module online, listing out exactly what you will be required to study on a year by year basis. It is important to note that no matter what points you achieve; you will not be allowed onto a course unless you achieve its minimum entry requirement (if it has one). This may guide you to choose particular subjects. In the case of compulsory exam subjects (which you will be studying anyway), obviously there is no choice to make there. However, if there is a requirement on your desired course to score a certain grade in a foreign language or other subject, you will need to opt for this subject if your heart is set on that course. However, to this tune, I would strongly recommend you have a plan B and C in place when choosing courses and will discuss the importance of this in articles later in the year. In relation to specific college requirements, it is useful to know that the NUI colleges (UCD, UCG, UCC, Maynooth etc) require a pass in a third language [excluding English and Gaeilge] for many of their courses. However there are now exceptions to this: UCD has dropped this requirement for Engineering and Agricultural Science, and Maynooth has removed it for Business, Accounting, Finance and Law. Trinity, UL, DCU and the Institutes of Technology do not have this third language requirement, except for their language courses. Again, the advice here is to double check the requirements online for each individual course. There are also ‘Subject requirements’ on courses. Examples include: to study Primary teaching, you need a H4 in Irish, Engineering courses may require honours Maths and sometimes a science subject, Medicine may require two science subjects (one being chemistry) and Nursing may also require a science subject. The savvy student will do some research on websites like qualifax.ie and careersportal.ie to get a handle on the exact requirements of courses they are Interested in. The Eight ACE ‘Do’s’ for choosing Subjects All in all, when it comes to subject choice, students should think a little about their futures, talk to teachers, look at courses they may have an Interest in and discuss with their peers gone ahead how they found studying the subject. Take your time and choose well. It may be wiser to choose subjects you have an interest in, as opposed to ones you feel you must choose in order to get into a certain career later. It is definitely a balancing act. Here are my eight ACE do’s for subject choice for 3rd and 4th year students: ·Do…Choose subjects you enjoy learning about ·Do…Discuss it with as many people as you can including teachers and peers etc ·Do…Try and keep your options open as much as possible ·Do…Choose subjects you have some kind of a flair for or Interest In ·Do…Research each subject’s content on https://www.curriculumonline.ie/ ·Do…Choose subjects linked to a possible future career you are considering ·Do…Write down the Pro’s/Con’s when trying to decide between two subjects ·Do…Make the final decision yourself (not your friends, teachers, or parents) Final Choice Advice The best advice I can give about subjects is to select ones that keep your options open. You can best do this by choosing one foreign language and ensuring that at least two of the other three subjects picked are ones you have an interest in or flair for. Remember that you will be spending a lot of time studying your chosen subjects over the next two years and the nightmare scenario would be dreading going into that class each day. I myself selected a subject I regretted taking in 5th year, but luckily was allowed switch later. You may not be as fortunate in your school, so try and get it right the first time to save any unnecessary anxiety. I now also have a degree in a subject that I didn’t study for my Leaving Cert. Life can be funny, so my advice is ‘rule nothing out’ and keep as many doors open as possible. In choosing subjects, always play to your strengths. For example, if business is something you are really interested in, you could choose Business and Accounting (assuming they don’t clash on the school timetable). Similarly, if Science is your area of passion, you could opt for two of the Science subjects i.e. Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Applied Maths or Agricultural Science may also be other options here. Enthusiasm for any subject will foster a desire to learn more about it and studying these subjects in Senior Cycle won’t even feel like learning. If you are struggling with this decision, get in touch with me via my website below and I will send you some resources that will help. I wish you every success with your upcoming decision. Joe Full details about Joe's Junior and Leaving Cert Maths Books can be found on his store page: https://sii.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/store/ace-maths-solution-books/

Published on February 15, 2022

Murano glass earrings and pendants If you’ve never heard of Murano glass you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. What makes it different from the normal glass windows we have in our homes? First of all, the process of making Murano glass is different from any others. It requires a special glassblowing process that is over 1000 years old. Rediscovered by local artisans who found the remains of ancient Roman glassware at the end of the first millennium, they continuously developed and enhanced the technique which has been relied upon ever since. When making the glass they mix it with other minerals which gives it its funky colours and vibrant designs. The resulting liquid glass mixture is then mouth-blown and then handcrafted by master glassmakers in a series of elaborate steps. They used tools to mould, shape and polish the glass to create unique and beautiful designs. For this reason, high-end Murano Glass is called art glass. These earrings and pendants are made from Murano glass stunningly light reflecting and the dept within the beads has to be seen to be believed