March is here at last, and without a shadow of a doubt this is our month – time to celebrate St. Patrick and all that is Irish.
To kick start the month I’m delighted to introduce you to the quirky and entertaining artwork created by Olyart in County Galway, together with a little giveaway to help spread some Irish luck.
Olyart designs and creates Irish gifts, with a humorous take on contemporary souvenirs.
First let me hand you over to Joanna from Olyart to explain her design inspiration, and then check out how to enter our giveaway at the end of the post.
A Little History Behind Olyart:
Olyart was established in December 2011. The story behind it is quite unusual as it’s an Irish business but started and run by Polish girls, who literally fell in love with Ireland from their very first minute there.
Aleks and Joanna met in the west of Ireland in Galway, and became very good friends.
Experiencing Irish kindness and Irish people’s need for random chats and socializing, combined with the amazing landscapes, art and culture inspired these two girls to start OLYART.
They love living in Ireland.
But what about the never ending rain? Here’s Joanna’s perfect response:
“Sure, rain is a challenge,
but also an amazing inspiration for illustrations.”
Everything is an inspiration in Ireland – the variety of accents, food, music, red hair, Paddy’s Day, summer not being much different to winter, the black shtuff, cottages, slang …….
Where else in the world do people say they are doing the messages when they are going shopping?
Even Irish greetings have to be longer than a simple hello, and sound more like this …….
“Hi ….. how are you?…. how’s it going …… what’ s the craic?”
OLYART’s idea is to design Irish souvenir gifts, a bit quirky and with a humorous take on contemporary Ireland.
OLYART specializes in a range of products such as postcards, mugs, coasters, fridge magnets, tote bags and greeting cards for various occasions.
The girls also create personalized gifts for businesses or individuals. Most of their products are bilingual (English and Irish).
They are sold in shops in Ireland and so far in Germany, France and Sweden.
You can check out the full range of their products on the OLYART website.
You can also follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
Here’s a little YouTube video to introduce you to some more of Olyart’s quirky products …..
The Prize:
The girls at Olyart have graciously sponsored a giveaway for Irish American Mom’s readers.
One lucky winner will receive a surprise selection of Olyart products up to a value of €30.
What a perfect way to get March off to a great start.
The Giveaway:
To enter our giveaway just leave a comment on this blog post by noon on Wednesday, March 11th, 2015. You can leave any comment you wish. What you write does not affect your chances of winning.
If you need some inspiration, why not tell us about your favorite Irish gift or let us know if you have ever received a funny or quirky gift from Ireland …
A winning comment will be chosen randomly. Remember to leave your e-mail so we can arrange to have your prize delivered. Your e-mail won’t be published or shared, just used to make contact.
The winner will be announced on the evening of Wednesday, March 11th, 2015 and the name shared at the end of this post.
You may check out Irish American Mom’s complete terms and conditions for sweepstake entries by clicking here.
Best of luck to all our entrants and a big thank you to Olyart for sponsoring this great prize for Irish American Mom’s readers. I really appreciate their generosity.
And a big thanks to all of you who enter and help spread the word to family and friends about this little giveaway.
March 11th, 2015 – We Have A Winner:
Congratulations to Sandra Newman, who is our lucky winner.
Thanks to everyone who joined in and enter this little giveaway.
And a big thank you to Olyart for sponsoring this wonderful prize. Wishing them every success with their wonderful artwork.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings),
Irish American Mom
Disclosure: Irish American Mom does not have a business relationship with Olyart. No cash payment was received for publishing this giveaway post. I love to help spread the word about small home businesses, artists and crafts people. Thank you to all who support these wonderful Irish and Irish American business enterprises.
Images published with permission of Olyart.
Here are some more ramblings you might enjoy:
The Many Names for Ireland
Inspirational Irish Words
The Irish Love Of Adjectives
I have never heard anyone say Baloobas!
Me neither, Val, but maybe it’s a Galway thing.
All the best,
Mairead
I grew up in Galway, the word Baloobas goes back to 1960 when Irish soldiers were sent to the Congo under a U.N.mandate.They fought against a wild tribe called Baloobas,hence the word entered the slang of Ireland!!
Thanks so much for that explanation of the word ‘baloobas.’ In Cork some of the slang comes from Hindustani, since the Munster Fuisiliers brought words back with them from India in the 19th century. One such saying is ‘the pawny is coming’ which means ‘the rain is coming.’ Apparently ‘pani’ is rain in Hindustani. I find these word origins fascinating.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
All the best,
Mairéad
So cute!!
love your blog!
Saw some of their work at gift shops when I visited Ireland! Adorable!
These are adorable! Love the “traffic jam” one especially! x
These really would make cute gifts
Today Sunday 1 March it lashed snow in Dublin. Mad weather!!
Probably all four seasons in one day. 🙂
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Love your blog, and Olyart is deadly class!
Great idea and lovely illustrations
Love the art! I hope to visit Ireland and meet my many cousins there soon!
Hope you get to go to Ireland very soon, and meet your family.
All the best,
Mairéad
Very cute stuff!
Love the post, thanks for a view of Ireland through you eyes.
Great Giveaway and blog!
These products are very cute.
Lovely products! It rains a lot here in Oregon too!
Some people are so clever. My favorite is the Irish Slang piece. 🙂
So creative! Love your blog.
These looks like so much fun?
This was meant to be an exclamation mark, not a question mark 🙁
Class! Can’t wait to look for Olyart when I go home to The Wee County in the Summer!
Love this art from Olyart. I’ve seen and bought some of their souvenirs. Nice to know more about their origin, Thanks for the terrific insight.
HI! These are so cute! I would love to win one. I’ve only been once to Ireland but I am counting down the days until I get to go back!!
Love these adorable cards and other gifts! I like the authentic Irish stuff….could do without the leprechauns, though.
These are adorable! Makes me want to visit Ireland even more!
So cute! Thanks for your blog Mairead. It brings a little bit of Ireland to my day.
Hi Ginger – I’m so glad you enjoy my ramblings about Ireland. Thanks for reading and following along.
All the best,
Mairead
Very fun products and so nice for a giveaway.
This art is adorable! Especially love the traffic jam since it reminds me of our trip many years ago to Ireland. There was a traffic jam (but not because of sheep):), and no one wanted to be the first to move, so my husband decided to get out of our car (the impatient American, ha) and direct the traffic…..no more traffic jam!
Love your blog Mairead. I’m Margaret as well and enjoyed learning that I rhyme with parade!:)
Hi Peggy – I love your traffic jam story. Thanks for sharing. I think a few more men like your husband are needed in Ireland to sort out our traffic jams, or tractor jams as they should often be called.
Nice to meet another Margaret too. Thanks so much for stopping by,
Mairead
What a fun giveaway! Count me in! 🙂
I have found my souvenirs when I go to Ireland this year. They are SO cute!!
These are absolutely adorable! <3 I can't wait for St. Patrick's Day, and some day want to visit Ireland in person.
This blog is wonderful! I stumbled upon it while looking for information on shamrocks. I visited Galway in 2009 and Ireland is gorgeous. I have a 3 year old boy and a 4 year old girl so it would be a such a blessing to win a prize for them.
These are all adorable! Would love to be the proud winner of one.
Thanks so much.
Mary Ann
Wow, I love this artist. First time I went to Ireland I saw Joanna’s art everywhere. I wanted to know why there were so many cute sheep around. I find those sheep so uplifting and just had to buy 2 of her mugs for my grandchildren. So nice to read the story behind the artist. Thanks Mairead.
Brighid from Celticthoughts.com
This artist captures Ireland at its humourous best!! So glad we have this awesome opportunity 🙂
Would love to display their art in my home; would make for an interesting way to start a conversation. Thanks for the opportunity.
Peggy
Thanks for sponsoring the contest Olyart with your lovely work!
My Galwegian hubby said that some of the slang words were DEF from Galway. A luveen is a term very specific of the Mervue area in Galway City. 🙂
Lovely work!
Loving all the prints. I think I need to get some to hang in my house in Maryland.
Looking at them makes me miss home though.
Thanks for translating Irish slang!
Oh my these brought a smile to my face. Would love to be able to enjoy them later!
I love Ireland I went to Ireland at 19 years old and married my Irish man . That was 04/04/1975 — next month it will our 40 year anniversary. We have traveled across the water so often our children (3) know Dublin like the back of their hands. Our grandchildren (2) will also know the pride and joys of the Irish and Ireland. Ps love all the items — g’children shirts <3 Love Erin Kathleen Caulfield
I have never received anything funny & quirky from Ireland,but would love too.I love Ireland and I hope someday I will get to visit it is my dream.
I love the Irish Slang one! Proves to my sons that I’m not crazy for using almost all of those sayings!
You have some very cute items. I love all the detailed work. I love Ireland and it’s people. God Bless you.