One Year On

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted on the blog, its been such a hectic start to year but one I cannot complain about.

So much has happened in the last 12 months since setting up the Design-Press and Gráinne Lyons Design that it has proven that hard work, determination and passion will get you on the path to where you want to be. Hard work is the key to success, so work diligently on any project you undertake. If you truly want to be successful, be prepared to give up your leisure time and work past 5.00pm and on weekends.
Have faith in yourself, if you come up with a new idea that you believe in, don't allow other people to discourage you from pursuing it.

Not long after setting up my blog I joined the Malthouse Design Centre where I set up a studio and began working on my own designs amongst a hub of other great young designers. With all the excitement and creativity going on within the walls of the Malthouse I got stuck into work pretty much from the first day. Upon arrival, The Light Fantastic exhibition was in its final stages of setting up and all the designers were putting the finishes to their final prototypes for the show which opened on the 17th of May. And like anyone who knows me, it wasn't long before I was following suit. Three weeks later I had the starting point of a lighting collection on show at The Light Fantastic. The show was a great success for all involved and as there were many people attending within the design sector in Ireland and editors from many of Ireland's leading newspapers and magazine, it was a great starting point for me to network.
Within a couples of months I was selling my finalised lighting collection the "Crochet Cloud" into number of well-known art and design retailers around Ireland including Designist, The Jam Art Factory, The Irish Design Shop and recently The Science Gallery and Dennison Design in Co.Kerry.

Since then the lighting collection has been featured in a number of national newspapers and magazines along with the newest of my products the "Bouquet" wine glass holder. The purpose of the wine glass holder came about when trying to design a product which would target the Christmas market. As wine is one of the top sellers at Christmas and is the gift of choice for many it was a no brainer. I wasn't prepared for the reaction I got and was overwhelmed by the interest. The "Bouquet" was featured in the Sunday Times magazine as one of the top Christmas gifts for 2012 and is currently selling within one of Ireland's oldest family run wine merchants, Mitchell&Sons as well as online from The Corkscrew.

Just last month Gráinne Lyons Design was featured in the designer profile section of Irelands Home, Interiors and Living Magazine and here I am, one year on, and in the process of designing a new lighting range which is coming to its finalised stage and prototypes are being made as I write this(blog post to come). With lots of exciting things coming up in the next few months, one I am particularly excited about is the Furniture and Interiors Fair in October. I will be doing my first solo trade show within the new designers section at the show in the RDS and hopefully another hardworking year will pay off and get me another step closer to where I aim to be both in business and in design.