Two Clare companies have been chosen as finalists for the Irish Made Awards.
Almost 400 entries were received for the 2020 Irish Made Awards, the highest amount of submissions received to date. Judges have narrowed down the entries to 116 finalists across ten categories and have selected two Clare companies as part of this.
SIAR Photography has been listed as a finalist in the home category. Founded in 2019 by Ennis based husband and wife, Gary Collins and Aoife Lenihan, SIAR Photography offers over 80 original photos by Gary, with each print printed, packaged and sold from our home studio in County Clare.
Meaning ‘West’ or ‘Westward’, as Gaeilge, Siar offers greeting cards, notebooks and tote bags, and recently collaborated with a local candle producer to create our first candle “Trá”, a scent inspired by the Irish beach and coastline.
Both Gary and Aoife have said they are thrilled to be named as finalists. “Being Irish made is central to SIAR Photography, so we are proud to be considered for this category alongside some truly amazing makers and businesses”.
Beo Wellness is also in the hunt for honours. The company founded by Sharon Connellan and Aoibhin Garrihy is in the gift category. Since its beginning in 2017, BEO has raised over €30,000 for youth wellness. Its nominated charities are Jigsaw (the national centre for youth mental health) and the Elevate Foundation.
BEO is the Irish translation for life or living, simply to be alive and well. For us this perfectly depicts what our brand is all about, Aoibhin and Sharon explained.
An advertising package worth €6,000 from Irish Country Magazine is the overall prize for the winner in each category along with membership of Guaranteed Irish for one year and a mentoring session, valued at €5,000; and automatic participation in Design & Craft Council Ireland’s Design Ireland B2B programmes and supports, DCCI e-commerce bootcamp and one-to-one mentoring, valued at €5,000. All category winners and runners-up will feature in a special edition of Irish Country Magazine in October.
Winners will be decided via a public vote. Voting is open until September 14th at https://irishcountrymagazine.ie/vote/
