TWO West Cork businesses were celebrating as they took home awards at the highly-competitive International Showcase for Irish Craft and Design businesses in Dublin.
The event, held from Sunday to Tuesday last week at the RDS, is one of Ireland’s largest international trade shows and offers manufacturers, designers and craft makers the opportunity to showcase their products to 3,500 buyers from both Ireland and overseas.
WASI, a seaweed skincare company based in Bantry won the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) award for their seaweed soap, and Naturally Balanced Kinsale won the Best Product Award in the Wellness category for their Maintain Body Oil.
WASI founder Claire O’Sullivan was delighted with her win.
‘My small seaweed business was honoured with a fabulous award and I couldn’t have done it without the amazing support of my local LEO office,’ she said in a post on Instagram.
‘To top it off my fellow Corkonian Tracy also took home the wellbeing award – Cork is on fire.’
Both companies were supported by Cork North and West Local Enterprise Office in developing their businesses.
LEOs support thousands of businesses across the country each year by providing them with mentoring and a range of grants.
The 2025 award winners were selected by a panel of industry experts including Mary Palmer, chair of Showcase; Mary Blanchfield, Interim ceo, Design & Crafts Council Ireland and Sarah Mallon, programme manager, LEO.
Each year, the LEO area exhibits talented designers from across the country across four categories: Home & Gift, Jewellery, Fashion and Wellbeing.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of Showcase, which generates sales orders of over €25.6m during the three days of the show.
Showcase is presented on behalf of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, with support from Local Enterprise Offices and from Enterprise Ireland in promoting the trade show internationally through their network of offices overseas. More than 400 Irish brands exhibit at the fair, including emerging Irish businesses supported by their LEOs.
Businesses from West Cork which were supported by the Cork North and West LEO this year included, alongside the two award winners, Orla Culligan Ceramics (Clonakilty), Wizard and Grace (Kinsale) and Mindful Maker, whose founder Paul Murphy hails from Castletownbere.
