A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Word on the street Omega male
What it means: Goodbye Alpha male – who'd have thought the competitive, ambitious, narcissistic, let-nothing-stand- in-his-way type would become extinct? But alpha male has been superceded by omega male, the under-achieving, low-testosterone kidult who lounges at the other end of the blokey spectrum, playing computer games and watching Lost.
Much like a zombie invasion, the world has become overrun with slackers, grunting monosyllabically, arms permanently outstretched for a beer or a remote control. But there may be some use for omega male. He’s got no job, all the time in the world and the mind of a child – perfect for looking after the kids while she gets on with the grown-up stuff.
Where it comes from:Omega male dates to the time of grunge, when loserdom was something to be celebrated. Hollywood has elevated the omega male to iconic status via Judd Apatow, but it took a smart cookie to realise she could turn unpleasant male traits to her advantage. Omega male is happy to play with his kids all day and great at working the DVD player, speaking Klingon and knowing the names of the dwarves in The Hobbit. He can also be taught rudimentary household skills such as filling the dishwasher.
How to say it: "Jason is such an omega male – he's even got a matching Liverpool FC apron and oven gloves."
Kevin Courtney
Project 51 to become Dublin's styling hub
‘IT’S TIME FOR THE rebirth of South William Street as the fashion centre of Dublin,” says fashion designer Jennifer Rothwell of the ambitious design collective Project 51, due to open there in September.
Spearheaded by jeweller Eoin McDonnell of Precious.ie, the aim of this collaboration between Irish fashion, accessory, jewellery and furniture designers is to create a stylish hub on one of Dublin’s most important historic streets, fast becoming one of the coolest in the city.
Their idea is that it will rival hip, high-end stores such as those in New York’s SoHo and be an exciting retail and gallery space. “Customers will come into a professional environment rather than a jumble sale staffed by hungry-looking designers,” says McDonnell.
His optimism is reflected by the changes in the street. The past few years have seen new businesses open and thrive. From a cycle shop and digital marketing agency to beauty and grooming parlours, cult boutiques, cafes and restaurants, the place is buzzing.
“There is amazing energy here now,” says McDonnell. The street hums with activity during the day and comes into its own in the evening, too. A further positive boost has been the recent announcement that the Civic Museum, a building of historic importance which has been closed for eight years, is to be restored by the Irish Georgian Society.
Named after William Williams, who laid out the street in 1676, the area was originally known as the land of Tibb and Tom, a reference to the cattle dealers who fattened their animals there. In the 18th century, South William Street was a fashionable residential street, home to lawyers, surgeons, wine merchants and jewellers. With the move of the monied classes to the suburbs, the street took on a commercial character and by the mid-19th century was classified as one of the best shopping streets in the city. In more recent years it became home to Dublin’s rag trade, but after it too started to change and move out, the street went into decline. Now once again, its fortunes are changing.
No 51 is a Georgian building dating from 1790 and one of its first tenants was a solicitor from the Bank of Ireland. At 2,200sq ft, it is an extensive building and McDonnell plans to use part of it as an exhibition and studio space.
A second-generation jeweller making bridal and engagement rings, his father had worked in aeronautics with McDonnell Douglas in the US before returning home. McDonnell says he inherited a love of diamonds from him, along with American determination and drive. For him the advantage is not only having a perfect location to meet clients but also the opportunity to work alongside fashion designers.
“They work the seasons and have clear road maps, but jewellers don’t, so I’ll have the opportunity to create in tandem with fashion people and can take my brand in a new direction,” he says. “If you cluster businesses together, they will create and innovate together, so I am incredibly excited by next year.”
He met Jennifer Rothwell through Greg Swift of Dublin City Enterprise, which is helping to fund the venture, and she has selected the other 12 designers. They include fashion designers Sinéad Doyle; Claire O’Connor, who recently worked on a fashion movie in New York; Ana Faye, who has won awards for her leatherwork and handbags; Heather Finn, known for her colourful knitwear; milliner Martha Lynn; and Geraldine Murphy of Saba Jewellery. Rothwell (whose clothes are all made in Ireland) is also initiating a manufacturing course in September to help designers improve their quality and standards.
As the September opening date fast approaches, building work on the premises is continuing apace under the stewardship of Ciaran O’Neill, “the world’s fastest builder”, according to McDonnell.
“You can create unique design with a unique environment like this,” he says. “For every €100 spent in an internationally owned shop in the city, €14 or €17 goes to the economy; if it is spent in an Irish boutique, €45 goes to the economy, so the difference is incredible. This is an investment not just in design, but in the economy.”
Deirdre McQuillan
Business okay for OKA
One UK mail order business that is flourishing despite the recession is interiors company OKA, selling furniture and furnishings that are a mix of classic and contemporary styles.
Founded in 1999 by Samantha Cameron’s mother, Lady Annabel Astor, and two friends, it started with a chain of small shops and a few months ago opened its three-storey flagship store on London’s Fulham Road.
“We’re filling a niche between Habitat and designer furniture,” says Lady Astor, who set up the business when she couldn’t find the sort of beds and shelving she wanted for a holiday home. The stock is sourced from China, India and Thailand and its summer brochure features beautiful Turkish pottery, antique-inspired tablecloths, loads of cushions and handsome lamps that would make great wedding presents. See okadirect.com.
Deirdre McQuillan
Showcasing Cork's design talent
What promises to be a fashion show with a difference is taking place in Cork on August 12th in the Wandesford Quay Gallery (formerly the Fenton), one of the main events of Cork Craft Month. Part catwalk and part art installation and called "A Midsummer Night's Dream", it aims to show how craft, design, art and fashion can co-exist by highlighting the work of local talents who combine many of those disciplines. It will include work from award-winning Alice Halliday, who has been making clothes and accessories since the age of 13; Cork-based Maltese artist Lisa Falzon, who calls her artful accessories Moth Bayleaf; Tuula Harrington of Designworks; as well as graduates from the Limerick School of Art Design. Further info from corkartdesign.com.
Deirdre McQuillan
Dublin's newest freesheet fashion magazine
Dublin's newest freesheet fashion magazine
Threadhas been stitched together by Garrett Pitcher, owner of cult denim boutique Indigo Cloth on South William Street, and a group of neighbouring independent retailers in the latest of an ever-increasing number of collaborations. The editor, stylist Aisling Farinella, has lined up a rail of writers, photographers and make-up artists to weave together stories that link fashion, art, film, music and design. The first issue has an interview with Simone Rocha and Celestine Cooney on their friendship, profiles writer/director Alexandra McGuinness and photographer Niall O'Brien, in between fashion spreads that draw clothes from the boutiques involved. Find Thread in Bow boutique in the Powerscourt Centre, Dolls boutique in Dublin's Portobello, uCCa in the Westbury Mall, Smock on Drury Street, Costume on Castle Market or Indigo Cloth.
Deirdre McQuillan
Wine tasting in Dublin 4
The Restaurant @ Donnybrook Fair is holding a wine dinner, hosted by Almudena Imhof from Viña Izadi, on Wednesday, August 31st at 7.45pm. Tickets are €60 per person or €100 per couple for a four-course dinner with wines. Imhof will introduce wines from Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Toro. To book, tel: 01-6144849 or email restaurant@donnybrookfair.ie.
John Wilson
True characters
Una McKevitt, theatre maker
Tell us about your new play . ..
The Big Dealis about two women's experiences of having been born into the wrong bodies and their struggles to rectify this situation throughout their lives.
Your plays draw on real-life experiences and real-life texts . .. I think everyone has the most extraordinary life - just getting up and going about your day and falling asleep. It's the ordinary detail that I find most revealing.
Do you think theatre has the power to change . . .I don't consciously make political plays, but I do believe the personal is political; that change in society can be effected by engagement with the lives of others, and theatre and other mediums have the potential to play this role.
If the arts can be a life saver, do you think they also have the power to save a country . .. It's incredibly important that we maintain arts investment in times of recession. The arts are an expression of who we are and where we are, and I think we need them now more than ever.
Has the recession shaped your work in any way . . .I left college in 2007 without any definite plan, just determined to keep trying to make theatre. Luckily for me there was a relatively new initiative called Project Brand New, which offered emerging artists 20 minutes on a professional stage to showcase their ideas; otherwise it really can be a struggle to get people who can programme your work to see it. I have a very simple aesthetic and the work I make is not incredibly expensive. This gives me some hope that I'll be able to continue making it one way or another.
How would you describe the theatre scene in Ireland today . . .It is hungry for new work, and I don't think an artist can ask for a better environment than one that is actively seeking risk and experimentation.
The greatest storyteller is. . . Someone you fancy on a first date.
What's next . . .I'm making a very short film documentary with a friend about my mum playing bridge. She has played bridge with the same partner for nearly 40 years. This is our first project, an experiment really.
The Big Deal is at Barnstorm Theatre, Kilkenny, from August 10th (preview) to 14th. See kilkennyarts.ie
In conversation with Emma Somers
Emigration and the exodus of Irish craft
A knit and crochet dress, handmade by Limerick School of Art and Design graduate Claire O'Sullivan, took first prize at the RDS Craft Competition this week. In unbleached yarn spun in Donegal, the dress comprises a full knitted skirt overlaid with Irish crochet.
"It was inspired by emigration and the exodus of Irish craft," says the designer, who did work experience with Irish knit supremo Tim Ryan in London, and later with Alexander McQueen, on his last collection. "I wanted to bring the craft back and modernise it and make it contemporary," she says. From Ring in Co Waterford, she is a self-taught knitter and crochet maker. "I try everything I can to keep my hands busy and I love creating and designing fabric – that's where my heart lies."
Following a networking trip to Future Makers, a knitwear trade fair in Florence, her own exodus will shortly be to New York, "where my market lies". In size 10, the dress costs €1,500. Inquiries to Claire@clar.biz
Deirdre McQuillan
A warm western welcome
When you're a newborn vegetarian and it's rainy and cold outside, going into a restaurant you've never visited before can be a bit of a worry. Will you stray out into the menu mainstream and be knocked down by speedy rashers and sausages or tempted by chargrilled chicken, before you even realise what's happening?
No such worries at Ard Bia at Nimmo's, cosily tucked into Galway's Spanish Arch. Your only problem will be whether to opt for the chickpea chana dahl with cucumber, quinoa and locally grown leaves, the grilled St Tola goats' cheese salad or the veggie risotto of the day with smoked Gubbeen and fresh pesto.
I chose the delicious dahl, which not only warmed me up but kept me full until nightfall – and didn't break the bank either, at just €9. As a treat, I added a glass of elderflower prosecco. Meat-eaters are also welcome: in fact, with its low ceiling, odd angles and farmhouse vibe, not to mention fresh flowers and bottles of wine everywhere, Ard Bia must surely have one of the most welcoming atmospheres of any eatery. If you're in Galway this summer, make sure you call in.
The cafe – there's also a restaurant and a wine bar – is open Monday to Saturday 9am-3.30pm and 6pm-10pm, and on Sundays, with a varied brunch menu, from 10am-5pm and 6pm-10pm. ardbia.com
Arminta Wallace
Index
WHAT'S HOT
Björk is back againAnd even better, she's making videos with Michel Gondry – Crystalline (left) is another classic collaboration
Rathmines LibraryThe 1913 building has just reopened after a year of renovations. Bravo
Longform.orgThey say long-form journalism is dying with the web, but this website is proving otherwise, curating a wonderful collection of hefty articles from around the world
Snow WhiteShe's red hot in Hollywood right now, with not one but two Snow White feature films in production, one starring Twilight's Kristen Stewart, the other with Phil Collins's progeny Lily. Will Poppa Phil play one of the dwarves?
Killarney tip-offSeriously good food at The Smokehouse, their surf turf is fantastic, staff excellent, portions generous and prices fair in this tourist town. Others please take note
Discover Ireland mapsBord Failte and Ordnance Survey have co-produced handy new range of pocket maps for specialist holidays (trad music, outdoor activities etc). Perfect gift for visitors
'The Hunger Games'Suzanne Collins's trilogy is captivating teenagers this summer
WHAT'S NOT
The 27 ClubAmy Winehouse's death was the tragic culmination of her addiction, not the fitting culmination of her talent. Same goes for Kurt, Jimi, Janis, et al
'The Throne'While the collaboration between Jay-Z and Kanye West will probably be musically thrilling, their chosen moniker hints at the combined ego we'll have to endure
KilljoysAutumn does not begin on August 30th. Go away with your "dog days of August" routine and "Back to school" specials
Ground elderIs this the most pernicious of weeds? Or will we give that prize to hedge-wrecking brambles?
Zoot suitsReferencing the past is all very well, but David Byrnes's oversized suit is not going to cut the fashion mustard. Stella McCartney has stopped making sense
Did you know that the most popular activity for families of a Sunday is shopping? Well tomorrow sees July's flea market at Newmarket Square off Cork Street in Dublin 8.
If you go down to the flea tomorrow
The flea is a gloriously eclectic collection of bric-a-brac, crafts and second-hand goods – coffee tables covered in pages from old Beano comics and clocks made from vintage seven-inches jostle for space alongside kitsch 1970s candle holders and magazine racks and clothing that goes from vintage furs to last season's Kate Moss for Topshop dresses.
You never know what else you might find at the flea – there's tea and coffee, along with gorgeous cakes; falafels fried up in front of your eyes; and, the last time we visited, a five-man band singing Elvis hits, decked out in identical powder-blue wide-collared suits. During summer months, stalls spill out on to the square outside, meaning that, if the weather stays fine, it's one of the most social ways to spend your sunny Sunday.
Rosemary Mac Cabe
