Wide-Eyed and Blind: Little Gem: [ MADE ]

The Powerscourt Town Centre is probably one of the best spots to recommend to visitors to Dublin. It is a stunning historic home (once actually a Georgian townhouse that was home to the Viscount Powerscourt and since converted into an especially beautiful shopping centre) to some high street retailers but the majority of the building is taken up by independent Irish brands, restaurants, cafes and bars. The top floor of the building has long since been a mecca for Irish design, in particular, where design legends like Jennifer Rothwell and the ground-breaking Design Centre, a two-decade old centre of the best of independent design in Dublin, can be found. And now the top floor also has a one-stop spot for some of the coolest contemporary brands and labels at work in our lovely little isle. This is the perfect complement and continuation of the legacy established by the Design Centre.

The [ MADE ] Store & Gallery is a concept store that curates the very best collections from leading contemporary designers and artists and was established by Kate Nolan & Chupi Sweetman (of the eponymous jewellery label).

With large windows that flood the space with perfectly beautiful light and a spacious set-up that leaves plenty to be seen and plenty of space to see it in without being either sparse or overly packed, the store makes for a pleasant shopping environment - the perfect place to wander into and browse on a lazy Sunday after brunch.

The store is home to internationally recognised Irish designers and brands such as NATALIE B COLEMAN, Danielle Romeril, Sorcha O’Raghallaigh, Chupi, We Are Islanders, Jill de Burca, Edel Traynor, Beatriz Palacios as well as emerging contemporary designers and is a uniquely Irish shopping experience that is rare to find elsewhere. Beautifully curated, it is a chance to bring back a little bit of authentically Irish 21st century design if you're just visiting or to track down more ethical clothing options and support local creatives if you're a native.

In a world of fast fashion and giant corporations that mimic the same clothes, concepts and floor plans all over the globe, it is a rare and precious thing to find such a place nowadays so here's hoping that they replicate the decades of success that its neighbours in the Design Centre have seen.