Katie Larmour is a contemporary Irish designer. She studied Applied Arts at the Ulster University School of Art and Design in Belfast. She graduated in Ceramics in 2006 and then worked in the art and antiques trade for eight years. In 2014, she finally realized her long-time dream of founding Katie Larmour Design Studio, which specializes in creating products and souvenirs from Irish linen.

Natural, undyed linen has become the signature of all her products. In a world of mass production and disposable fashion, Katie’s handmade cushions have a unique, one-of-a-kind beauty.

“Irish linen has always been around me, from my childhood in Northern Ireland to the present day… In the early 18th century, my Larmour ancestors came to Ireland with a wave of French Huguenot immigrants, bringing with them the tools, techniques and craft skills that established the linen industry in Northern Ireland… It’s a tradition to which I add my own unique twist.”

Katie’s shop stocks soft holiday ornaments, toys and fabric keepsakes, all made from textile waste, embellished with beading, tinsel and sequins that sparkle and shimmer on the tree, looking incredibly sophisticated. Like this set of sixteen.

Katie’s toys range from very traditional ornaments such as baubles, snowmen, snowflakes and reindeer to more unusual characters such as a salamander, an Egyptian mummy and a dinosaur. And there are toys with a purely Irish history: a map of the island of Ireland, the Cross of Conga, a pectoral lunula. While the map of the island is self-explanatory, other Irish jewelry requires some explanation. Or, for example, the salamander. Here is its story.

The gold Salamander pendant with precious stones was found at the wreck of the Spanish galleon Girona, which sank off Cape Lacada during the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the fall of 1588. The Girona was part of the largest invasion fleet to date, the Great Armada of 130 ships, which sailed from Lisbon on May 30, 1588. Its goal, as part of Philip II’s crusade against Protestant “heretics”, was to take control of England, overthrow Elizabeth I and restore the Catholic monarchy. The ships were carrying a huge amount of ordnance, including massive siege weapons designed to destroy the walls of London. As is well known, the Spanish fleet failed, and the Girona was one of at least 26 ships that sank off the coast of Ireland.