Leitrim's finest creative entrepreneurs to attend Showcase 2024

Showcase 2024 international creative expo is set to take place from Sunday, January 21, to Tuesday, January 23, at the RDS Dublin, where Leitrim's finest creative entrepreneurs will showcase their work on a global stage. 

One of Ireland's largest trade shows, Showcase is a key destination for domestic and international buyers. This year, the expo will focus on the buyers, encouraging them to choose Irish products for their craftsmanship, connection to the maker, and provenance. 

Each year, a selection of Irish designers, manufacturers, and craftspeople unveil their new season collections, from fashion and wellbeing to jewellery and home and gifting. 

12 Quail Farm will showcase its wellbeing soap collections made in Leitrim with donkey milk to international buyers. 

Since 2013, Tiina Laas has purchased 12 Quail as pets and found the eggs tasty and healthy. She expanded the operation and supplied supermarkets and restaurants around the country.

Tiina started making soap on the kitchen table as a hobby, never one to rest on her laurels and always being creative. Fast forward to 2021, and now 12 Quail Farm supplies stores in 7 countries in North America and Europe with its handcrafted soaps. 

Cobble Lane Ceramics also showcases its handcrafted ceramic giftware from wall-hanging houses to shopfronts. 

Blending time-honoured craft with innovative design, Showcase 2024 is set to be bigger and better. Almost 400 exhibitors and more than 4,000 visitors from Ireland and overseas are expected to attend the three-day show.

Showcase was founded in 1976 by the Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) and is delivered with support from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, and the Local Enterprise Offices. 

In 2023, Showcase generated over €25 million in sales during the show for the 400 exhibitors who unveiled their latest collections. Almost 4,000 buyers from 24 countries across four continents attended in person, and many more visited through the digital platform Showcase Connect.

Showcase 2024 will continue successful features from previous years including a dynamic event that will fuse dance, music and products to convey the heritage and craftsmanship of Irish craft and design. 

Launching Showcase 2024, Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Trade Promotion and Digital Transformation, commented, "I am delighted to launch Showcase 2024. This trade fair welcomes national and international buyers to give them an opportunity to take their retail offering to the next level with pieces from heritage brands and family businesses. 

"Showcase provides a unique opportunity for Irish businesses to increase their sales and exposure to markets across the globe. Last year's Showcase saw orders of over €25 million, a superb investment into the Irish design and craft sector. We look forward to this year's Showcase and we are confident that it will bring continued growth and expansion to the sector."