Its Dublin Design week at the moment (http://www.designweek.ie/ ) and for anyone interested in how you can turn your home or place of work into an environment which is quirky, stylish and gives your friends a touch of the green eyed monster, there are some fantastic displays and ideas to be enjoyed and coveted.
Wayne Hemmingway launched the festival and, as someone who has worked on commercial properties where his designs have been implemented, I’m a huge fan of his creative output. All week there are showcases of first class creative ideas from designers and I’d defy anyone to leave any of the events uninspired.
One display that I thoroughly enjoyed was Fuse Interiors collection of vintage and recycled furniture and interiors at Gallery Number One, which is running for the month of November. I know Danielle McInnes by reputation, having heard great things about her flair for sourcing pretty cool furniture that you won’t see replicated elsewhere. In the current world we live in, we see nonstop IKEA beige fit outs in both homes and shops/bars/offices and whilst I have no objection to this (after all, it’s been my bread and butter in the quiet times and I think it is good quality for the price) it really is refreshing to see a shop and website where you can buy a piece of furniture that really stands out and makes a statement. I’ve decided already that I want the coffee table with the London Underground Tube map and as soon as my son grows out of scribbling on everything with his crayons, it will be mine. Fuse have an eclectic range of pieces for home or office and I know Danielle has worked really hard on the launch of her shop earlier this year so I really wish her the best of luck and would encourage anyone who wants a change from the usual bland furniture pieces to check out what she has on offer at www.fuseinteriors.ie or pop along to the display at Gallery Number one and bag yourself a little something that will give your home or workplace that funky finish.
Looking forward to the rest of design week and it’s been great to see so much positivity and creativity at the events – well needed before November’s budget! Dear Mr Cowen and Lenihen…please don’t force us to the point where Argos flat pack furniture becoming all we can afford!
A great way to pay – ‘Square’
Jack Dorsey (he who invented Twitter) was in Dublin recently for the Web Summit and he also appeared on The Late Late Show along with some fellow web professionals. On The Late Late Show, he talked to Ryan Tubridy about a fantastic little device that, as a tradesman, I feel is incredibly useful. The Square (https://squareup.com ) is a small scanner that you plug into your iPhone, iPad or Android Phone and allows one person to pay another person using a credit or debit card.
We are all so used to relying on plastic these days that very few people have cash on them, or even own a chequebook. Yet on occasions such as paying a babysitter, market trader or carpenter such as myself, customers want the convenience of paying without having to trek to the bank for cash – and from a security point of view it leaves a permanent record of the transaction. This little device simply reads the credit card and transfers from the card into the recipients bank account. An electronic receipt is then sent as proof of the transaction.
This is a great idea and I know that I have held off on using Paypal or other card processing payment devices because of the charges – with the Square there are none. I will certainly be getting one and my research tells me that my customers would welcome the option of paying me in this way and then they can of course spread their repayments over a few months if necessary. Its so simple I wish I’d thought of it myself! Hope Jack Dorsey keeps on inventing things like this offer really simple solutions to everyday problems!