Fermanagh may be famous for its Belleek pottery but the Border county is brimming with a wide variety of other craft and designware. Start at the Buttermarket Craft and Design Centre in Down Street, just off the main street in Enniskillen, which stocks locally-produced goods ranging from dainty lace tablemats and leather bags to hand painted T-shirts and sturdy pottery.
Originally the hub of the county's butter industry, the complex was tastefully converted six years ago into workshops and shops for local artists, designers and craft workers.
Goods from some of the workshops are also on sale in the centre's main shop, Boston Quay. In its main window hangs an eyecatching black reindeer made from a recycled car tyre. Durable and fun, it is designed to be suspended outdoors. It costs £79.95 and can hold up to 14 stone, so even a slim Santa could have a swing on it. (All prices in this article are in sterling.)
There are leather bags by Malachy Collins, who owns a shoe repair shop in neighbouring Lisnaskea - music cases in black and tan cost £38.50 while saddle bags are £32.95.
Also here are ceramic brooches and pins shaped as shamrocks and pastel-coloured flowers made by Melvin Craft, a small company based in Belleek. They cost between £7.60 and £20.
Alison Britton's bright, framed silk batiks, which include Celtic designs, cats and and sea themes, cost between £30 and £50 and would cheer up a kitchen or bathroom. Alison, who has a studio in the Buttermarket, also does wallhangings to order for around £300.
For wine-loving friends and relatives there is a wide range of elegant, Leonardo, German-made glasses which cost between £7 and £13 and decanters for around £30. There are also festive, coloured champagne flutes with stars at their bases at £12.95 each.
Dara Hand, who also has a studio in the market, produces machine-washable, hand-painted T-shirts and sweatshirts. He has about 400 designs which he paints freehand. T-shirts cost £19.50 and sweatshirts £30.
Artist Jo Tinney sells watercolours and prints and hand-painted, traditional, pine furniture including dressers, toy chests and monks' benches from her shop unit. A jewellery casket painted in deep green and maroon with extracts from Yeats's poetry costs £50. Tinney also has an exhibition of small works for less than £100 aimed at the Christmas gift market.
For gifts for anglers, fly-dresser Frankie McPhillips can put together for £40 a kit for tying flies, containing tools and a selection of materials from an extensive range in his shop. McPhillips also sells framed individual trout and salmon flies and fly collections with names such as Murrough, Green Peter, Silver Doctor and Thunder & Lightening for between £16 and £150.
Across the road from the Buttermarket, in Unit 3 of the town's Enterprise Centre, the shop and cluttered studio of potter Ann McNulty is well worth a visit.
McNulty's hand-thrown pottery is painted with abstract designs in blues, yellows and blacks based on the colours of Fermanagh's lakes and stunning sunsets. An egg cup costs about £4, an espresso cup and saucer around £12, mugs between £8 and £10, a candle holder £13 and a small, decorative box suitable for holding jewellery £10. For a special present, a beautiful, large bowl costs between £70 and £80.
The Yellow Duck on The Diamond sells a wide selection of Mullaghmeen pottery which is hand-painted by half a dozen artists in cheerful designs. Prices range from £6.50 to £10 for a cup and saucer, £20 for a small fruit bowl and £40 for a casserole dish. MANY of these products, and more are on sale at a crafts fair in Enniskillen Town Hall organised by the Fermanagh Crafts Consortium from Thursday to Saturday. With more than 30 stalls on display, no serious Christmas shopper could possibly come away empty-handed.
Parking: Pay and display parking is available beside the Buttermarket. Wellington Place off the main street has a large, free car-park space and is five minutes walk from the town centre.
Lunch Stop: Franco's restaurant on Queen Elizabeth Road offers an exhaustive selection of pizzas for less than £5 and homemade pastas for around £7 as well as seafood and meat dishes.
Hinterland Highlight: The Belleek Pottery and visitors centre, which includes a museum, shop and cafe, is a scenic, 30-minute drive from Enniskillen. The shop's wide range of Parian china includes traditional and more contemporary designs.
