CULTURE: New Westport market showcases crafty creations

Summer in Westport is never boring. From bustling streets to packed pubs, it’s always a time that brings buzz to the town. And this summer, the Westport Makers Market is adding another layer of interest to the season’s proceedings.
Running every Saturday of the summer months, the market offers artisans and craftspeople the chance to showcase with their beautiful creations and handmade produce in Westport’s Town Hall Theatre.
The woman behind it, Gráinne Moran, said she decided to set up the market after she and other makers across Mayo found themselves having to travel to other markets around the country in order to display their wares to potential customers.
Speaking to The Mayo News, Ms Moran explained: “There was quite a few of us who live not too far from Westport, and I just thought we have to take the opportunity of living close to Westport to show off what we’re making, because we don’t get to do it that often.”
A trip to a market in Sligo was the catalyst. “I was down in Strandhill – there’s a huge market there – and I was sitting there one day thinking ‘God, it’s crazy that I have to drive all this way to a market’, and that’s when I thought we have to utilise living in Westport – you know, the Greenway, tourists. So many people were interested.”

Inspiring surroundings
Moran is a silversmith whose company, Bombora Design, is inspired by nature and her own personal travels through Europe, South East Asia, South America, as well as time spent living off the east coast of Australia.
Growing up along what is now the Wild Atlantic Way, she always had a close connection to the sea and her natural surroundings, and this shows in her beautifully crafted jewellery pieces.
Additionally, Bombora Design uses kind-to-the-planet silversmithing practices, and only ethically sourced materials, such as recycled gold and recycled sterling silver, are used in their creations.
“I moved home to Newport a couple of years ago after being away for 12 years, and I started working for myself, so I’m just trying to get my work out there as much as possible,” Moran said.

Lovingly produced
The market showcases Moran’s work, as well as that of a wide range of craftspeople, including Luke O’Callaghan, a ceramicist from Louisburgh, and Tom Delaney, a basketmaker from Claremorris. Mayo-based Bláthana Herbal Cosmetics are selling everything from lavender and lemon cleansing balms to rose and coconut bath bombs. Other treasures include handcrafted soaps, hand-knit clothing, wood-turned pieces, and candleholders and more made from jesmonite resin.
Each of the makers are rightly proud of their lovingly produced wares and the traditions behind them.
Tom Delaney, for example, is carrying on a tradition of basketmaking that was widespread during the time of his father and grandfather before him. Delaney mostly makes traditional-style baskets, focusing on quality and durability. “I started foraging willow from the roadside. Just like my father used to do it and just like many people before used to do it,” he told The Mayo News a few months back.
Natural willow products are certainly in vogue, and with demand continuing to grow, Delaney now sources his materials from his own six ‘willow beds’ located around Mayo, which support 15 different types of willow.
Customers can chat to Delaney or any of the makers about their goods, as they man their own stalls at the weekends.

Real opportunity
With limited opportunities for craft makers to get their produce seen, the market is a real opportunity for not only for them but also for the consumers who value their artistry. It’s something that Gráinne Moran is keenly aware of.
“We have some really good quality pieces to show. There are some other small markets going on – I know Louisburgh have a market every Friday – but there’s not that many… you would have to travel. So it’s amazing to have it in Westport,” she said.
“There’s people coming from Ballina, Newport, Claremorris, Ballinrobe, there’s people coming from all over Mayo to it, and then you also have makers locally from Westport.
“I think it’s a really good asset to Westport, to show all these good-quality makers.”

•   Makers interested in taking part in the market can email Gráinne Moran at hello@bomboradesign.com, or message her on Instagram. Westport Makers Market takes place in Westport’s Town Hall Theatre every Saturday until September, from 10.30am to 4pm. For more information, see the market’s Instagram page @westportmakersmarket.