Craft firms shortlisted for new product awards

Four craft companies were shortlisted yesterday for the first new products awards to be held at the 25th annual Showcase Ireland international craft, gift, fashion and interiors fair. The event will take place at the RDS, Dublin, on January 21st-24th.

An overall award for best new product at Showcase will be made to one of the category winners at the show.

The winners were selected from four categories. They included: Ms Deirdre Rogers in the craft and gift category; Glen Lucas Woodturning in the interior and tabletop section; Ms Celine Traynor in the fashion and accessories category; and Ms Lorraine Grant in the Celtic showcase category.

The awards are a response to a perceived lack of new products among buyers at Showcase Ireland, according to its organisers.

"Sixty-five per cent of all buyers surveyed at Showcase 2000 rated the availability of new products as the most important requirement at the fair," said Dr Frances Ruane, chairwoman of the Crafts Council of Ireland. "The display of shortlisted and awarded new products will help buyers identify the companies that are keen to promote their ongoing investment in good new design."

Mr Leslie Reed, chief executive of the council, said the event allowed small firms, which otherwise would not have a sufficient budget, to market their goods at home and abroad. Showcase Ireland is the flagship of the Crafts Council of Ireland and attracts more than 12,000 buyers, including 2,000 buyers from Britain, continental Europe, North America, Australia and Japan.

Last year, orders taken at the show amounted to £36.1 million - an increase of 11 per cent on the previous year. Home orders amounted to £21.83 million and exports reached £14.27 million. North America was the largest export market in 2000, with £7.01 million in orders placed.

"The [event] is really the critical selling and marketing opportunity for crafts and trades in Ireland," said Mr Dan Flinter, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, which is promoting the fair internationally.

"It is an outstanding example of branding and is important for two reasons. It makes a statement internationally about Ireland in that it combines the old and the new. Secondly, many of these craft companies are located in small communities and are sometimes the only source of economic activity in those areas, which wouldn't normally attract big firms. They play an important role in developing economic activity in those areas and in regional development."