We stopped in town as part of a very nice tour with Wild Rover that included Kilkenny, Wicklow and…read moreGlendalough. (A very worthwhile day tour by the way). We had a couple hours to wander on our own and as part of that we stopped in the design center here to do a little browsing. It is a little pricier than some shops but very well curated and that's why. Lovely artisan jewelry, scarves, caps, pottery, crystal, sweaters, soaps and such. A great place to bring home a nice keepsake that you'll enjoy for years to come. My mom bought a pretty cross necklace and I regret not purchasing an elegant pair of sterling silver and Connemara marble earrings during our visit but I really enjoyed our short time in Kilkenny, and would have liked much more time to explore it's interesting history, so I guess I'll just have to make my way back sometime!

Kilkenny Design Centres are located throughout Ireland, but this one might be the mother ship. Or…read moreat least the building complex it and other shops (and restaurant upstairs) are set in his pretty impressive. I was actually more interested in the K Foley leather shop in back, but they were closed on this recent Sunday afternoon. Gayle jokes that I've never met a gift shop I didn't like. That might be largely true, but the offerings of one either hit me or they don't. In the case of the 2-part Kilkenny Design Center, it didn't and not for the lack of trying! Cute Irish stuff, but not today.

As part of a hen weekend, my group and I spent a wonderful 2 hours getting in touch with our inner…read more7-year olds as we indulged in some serious art and craft. The concept of this place is great and not one that I've encountered before. When you go in, you pick a plain white piece of pottery that you'd like to paint such as a plate, bowl, mug or ornament. Prices range from around €12-20 and then you sit down and paint whatever design you like on it. Having a weird name means I can never find anything personalised in shops so naturally I jumped at the chance to scrawl my name in swirly designs all over what is now my official "cereal & soup bowl" that I keep at work. The staff, esp. Natasha was lovely to deal with and made the whole experience thoroughly enjoyable and provided sweets for us to nibble on as we painted. We returned the next day to collect our treasures after they had spent time in the kiln and were surprised at how professional most of them looked. This is an amazing activity to do, kind of wonder if there's something similar in London? It's a really relaxing, therapeutic and creative way to spend a few hours - especially good if you have kids to entertain on a rainy day.

From the owner: The Pottery Shed offers a range of online and mobile Pottery Painting Services. These include…read moreHandpainted Personalised Gifts for any occasion, Hen Parties for all the hens to create their own masterpiece, School Workshops, Mobile Group Bookings for all ages, Baby Hand and Footprints to create a memory that lasts a lifetime and many more. Call or email us to make a booking