New Irish craft shop opens in the heart of West Mayo town

After a soft opening on Friday, KYMO craft & design gift shop is now up and running in time for Christmas on Westport's Shop Street.

Aidan Healy, the creative behind KYMO and Aodha, Irish Craft & Design, told The Mayo News that the name KYMO has two meanings: KYMO is the Japanese word for 'Wave' as a nod to the Wild Atlantic Way and the other meaning represents himself as a Kerryman (KY) in Mayo (MO).

The new shop will give him more space to showcase his larger items like ceramics, pottery, glass and art, which is currently restricted in Aodha, on Bridge Street. He hopes the bigger space will give customers a more pleasant shopping experience in both stores.

Across the two shops, Aidan will showcase the crafts of over eighty Irish suppliers.

Healy is proud to support Irish suppliers and says that supporting Irish trickles down. He gives the example of one of his suppliers who thanked him for a big order by saying that pay for my son's accommodation costs for college.

Locals will be happy to see the shop brought back to life after remaining vacant for a period after the previous leasehold was terminated following complaints of it operating as a controversial vape shop.