Clothesline

Great woolpowerWhen two Irish designers set up a knitting company, they decided to call it Electronic Sheep, having worked their woolpower on electronic looms. Since then, friends and fellow NCAD graduates Brenda Aherne, living in Dublin, and Helen Delany, living in London, have been building a growing reputation for their colourful, zany hats and scarves for men, women and children.

Aherne did a postgraduate degree in knitwear technology in Limerick, and winning the Hudson Blue competition in 1998 in Dublin awarded by UK designer Wayne Hemingway of Red or Dead encouraged her to set up forces that year with Delany, who had worked as a graphic designer in New York, London and Rome. Since then, their cool knits have been featured in Vogue and Grazia and stocked in hip outlets such as Behave, Supra and Top Shop in London as well as Low Key and Dolls in Dublin. The knitwear is made in Thessaloniki with Italian wool, making them a truly international brand. www.electronicsheep.com

Quite a shoe-in

A ballet flat in the softest nappa leather that comes in a small zipped wallet is the perfect solution on that night out when those high heels are killing you. By Eileen Shields, they cost €125 and come in black or white, and for those who buy a pair of Shields high heels in either Kalu in Naas or Suzan Belle in Kilkenny during the party season, they come as a free gift. Another good idea is Shields "Newmama and Newborn" shoe gift which combines a "newmama" slipper in black or white and newborn shoes designed by Helen James which come in 12 different colours which you can select like chocolate truffles. At Five Scarlett Row, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

Australian trail-blazers

"We have shopped the States and exhausted Europe, so it was time to give the southern hemisphere a run," said Brown Thomas buyer Karen Higgins at a recent catwalk show to introduce eight new Australian labels to Ireland. Anne Plunkett, the stylish Australian ambassador who hosted the event, said that modern Australia has developed a name for its innovative design ideas and that 60,000 Irish people travel to her country every year. The new names may not be as well known in Ireland as Sass & Bide, Easton Pearson or surf labels such as Billabong, but the clothes (now in stock in both Brown Thomas and BT2) are distinctive for their colour and brio with a summery, sexy yet sophisticated look to be expected from a country with such a celebrated outdoors lifestyle (above dress by Alice McCall, €450). Look out for all sorts of tunic dresses in vibrant prints, shifts of silver and parkas in light, airy fabrics.