The Old Schoolhouse Market

 

  Last weekend saw the first ever Old Schoolhouse Market take place in Drogheda. The Indoor Market is held in what was once the old Methodist Church & schoolhouse and which is now part of the Laurence Town Centre. It is a beautiful old building with fabulous church style windows which create a lovely atmosphere in the market. The whole thing is offset by the fairy lights which hang from the railings above. This is going to be a monthly artisan food and craft fair and will have an emphasis on producers local to the North East of Ireland. It will also aim to feature a wide range of high quality food and crafts that available in Ireland today. 

        

     

The market had a range of stalls which included food, crafts and plants. Some of the stalls included Ferdia Artisan Chocolates, Terry O'Brien Crafts, Lily's Tea Shop and my favourite cake makers - The Brown Hound Bakery. We couldn't walk away from that one without buying a box of cakes!!

 

There is also a communal seating area where people can sit down and enjoy cake, a cuppa and a chat. The market is small at the moment but it has huge potential to grow and it is meant to have double the amount of stalls for the next one which will make a big difference. It is a gorgeous venue and is a great addition to the town. The next market takes place on the 4th and 5th May and is one I will definitely be putting in my diary. For more information visit www.oldschoolhousemarket.com or visit their Facebook page. 

National Crafts and Design Fair 2011

Now I know this is not strictly to do with food but this weekend the National Crafts and Design Fair is taking place at the RDS. So myself and the mother headed down last night to see if we could find any good gift ideas and with over 500 designers, artists, and craftspeople  we were spoilt for choice. Within about 10 minutes of being in the place we had both managed to find gifts that we loved. Gifts for ourselves might I add!! The place is packed with beautiful and unique gift ideas and there is something for everyone's budget. 

After two hours of oohing and aaghing at many an item in the main hall we made our way to the food hall where over a 100 food producers were present. We executed our plan of action which is basically making our way around the stalls eating the samples! While we loved all the stands, one stand that we were particuraly taken with was The Scullery whom we had never encountered before. From Nenagh in County Tipperary they make wonderful relishes, compotes and glazes and delicious christmas puddings. There is also a packed agenda of cooking demos which covers entertaining at christmas, cooking with leftovers and baking with craft beer to name but a few.

So if you haven't started your christmas shopping yet or even just have a few hours to spare a visit to the Fair this weekend would be well worth the trip. My mother and I bought 2 hats, a necklace, candles, jam, relishes .......

For more information on the National Crafts and Design Fair: http://www.nationalcraftsfair.ie/
For more information on The Scullery: http://thescullery.ie/