Women in Business - Interiors
We have 52 brilliant Irish women (one for every week of the year) excelling in beauty, fashion, food and home.
Interiors
43>> KATHARINE DEAS, ORIANA B. Katharine is the founder of Oriana B., the Irish online interiors store, which sells quirky and original furniture. Katharine is especially interested in how interiors impact on our wellbeing, and, having worked in London fitting out offices to make them more energy efficient, she has an eco bent as well.
Visit orianab.com
44>> VIRTUE SHINE, EMERALD & WAX Virtue is the woman behind Emerald & Wax, the online shop which sells clothing, lampshades, pillowcases, and other homewares. Virtue is also one of the names behind Ro & Vee, a clothing and jewellery store that acts as a platform for women from West Africa to sell their crafts.
Visit emeraldandwaxdesigns.com
45>> LINDSAY MALATJI O’SHEA Lindsay’s website offers a free platform for women to sell their wares, and ultimately become financially independent, targeting those disproportionately affected by successive lockdowns.
Visit evesmarket.online
46>> HELEN TURKINGTON Helen first established the Fabrics Company with her father in Cookstown and later went on to set up her own iconic brand with two stores in Dublin. Helen is now focusing on her online offering, as it represents 70 per cent of her business, and on her property development company Turkington Rock.
Visit helenturkington.com
47>> HOLLY SOMERVILLE Holly’s artistic and vibrant take on biophilic design infuses her Irish wildflower-inspired watercolour prints, cushions and tableware. A Royal Horticultural Society medal winner, she has exhibited widely in Dublin and Belfast.
Visit botanicalartgifts.com
48>> SASHA SYKES Sasha first trained in architecture and then worked as a retail designer until she quit in 2001 and started on a series of work that culminated in the Straw Cube, a 60cm acrylic cuboid table filled with wheat straw.
She continues to explore the world of Irish agriculture through her interiors business Farm21, which makes furniture from acrylics and hand-cast resins.
Visit sashasykes.com
49>> CATRIONA MCGINLEY, ORWELL & BROWNE Following in her grandfather’s footsteps, Catriona founded Orwell & Browne Donegal Tweed Accessories in 2014 to sell locally-sourced fabrics that combine colours and textures reminiscent of the Irish landscape. Despite a slow start, Caitriona nurtured the business to success by never giving up on her vision.
Visit orwellandbrowne.com
50>>GRÁINNE KENNY Gráinne is a textile designer smitten with shorelines and sunsets. Her creations range from homewares to table and floor lamps. Using high quality materials such as Irish wool, linen, cotton and silk, Gráinne captures the colours, textures and patterns of the sea and sky by mixing and layering fabrics in her own signature style.
Visit grainnekennydesign.com
51>> EILÍS GALBRAITH Contemporary textile designer Eilís Galbraith started her eponymous business in 2017 selling hand-drawn, digitally printed homeware products. Her work depicts contemporary rural living through a mix of colours, textures and unique motifs. Eilís offers a unique take on how Ireland’s traditional past fuses with the present.
Visit eilisgalbraith.ie
52>> ANNETTE WHELAN Annette opened her glass studio to the public in the year 2000, and has now started selling her glazed homewares online.
Each melted multi-coloured piece she makes, whether it’s a coaster or a bowl, is eye-catchingly unique.
Visit annettewhelan.com