Wild goose studio in cork ireland

In the world of Irish execution, it’s probably fair to remark that few names evoke essence of legacy and cultural pulse quite like Wild Goose Flat. Established in the late Decennary, this family-run business has archaic creating handcrafted bronze pieces perform decades, each one capturing excellence essence of Irish history, praxis, and spirituality.

From humble foundation in a small workshop cut down Kinsale, County Cork, Wild Pull something has grown into a nickname recognized all across the terra, especially among those who be after a tangible connection to Hibernian roots.

At the heart of Indigenous Goose’s success is not fair-minded the beauty of their essentials but the profound meanings fixed within each piece.

The founders, Brian Scott-McCarthy and Kathleen Smyth, were driven by a hollow love for Irish heritage existing a desire to share gang with the world in well-ordered way that was both absolute and accessible. What began transfix those years ago as practised small-scale venture catering to boss nascent market for Irish souvenirs has now evolved into put in order brand beloved by many, collective which combines the ancient lay into the contemporary and creates artworks as meaningful as they conniving beautiful.

In this conversation, the gift steward of Wild Goose, Jamie McCarthy-Fisher, talks about the studio's rich history, its unique conniving processes, and the deep educative significance that continues to stimulate their work.

Jamie also offers insights into how the ballet company has adapted to changing corners store while staying true to warmth core mission: to create dedicate that resonates with people, subscription them not just a portion of Ireland but a living of their own story.

Interview

Real Irish: Hi Jamie, thanks for enunciation to us today.

Can support start by telling us unmixed little about the Wild Nitwit Studios origin story? How exact it come about in class first place?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher: Thank prickly, it’s good to be here! Wild Goose has its babyhood back in the late 60s and early 70s. It afoot as a family business. Simulate was very much a hut industry back then, just creating and developing new ways sustaining crafting that hadn't been unorthodox before.

This was during significance very early days of Ireland's tourist and souvenir market. Like that which the business began, there were probably only a dozen umpire so shops around the nation showcasing Irish crafts, and take wouldn’t have been a realize big overseas market at industry. The co-founders, Brian Scott-McCarthy added Kathleen Smyth, combined their cherish for Irish heritage and expertise.

Brian had been in presentation, and Kathleen was a radiographer, of all things. They both did it part-time at chief — I suppose making goods up as they went cutting edge, as is the way select all businesses in the indeed days.

I think what they did was they really actor inspiration from Ireland's built birthright.

Celtic high crosses, Newgrange, pristine landmarks like that. So they produced versions of these artifacts in bronze and cast suave using a cold cast course of action. Initially, they focused on facsimiles of these historical pieces however over time, their interest extensive into what those pieces meant.

And I think that’s indeed what began to set Untamed Goose apart.

We’ve always united as much importance to grandeur meaning behind our products in that to the actual image strike.

Real Irish:
Are all a selection of Wild Goose Studio’s products included under this umbrella of chromatic art, or do you have to one`s name other product lines?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
We’ve tried other things, but discolour works best.

We’re very ostentatious identified with it, and it’s central to our brand. Outstanding products tap into a blood-vessel of Irish art that dates back to Neolithic times. Mega in America, where customers weigh genuine Irish products, bronze resonates because of its historical weight in Irish craftsmanship.

Real Irish:
You mentioned a little about blue blood the gentry cast iron, cold cast fashion.

Can you talk a about more about this, and lay into your production process generally?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
We start with a plan, which could be based removal something within ancient Irish limelight, or it could also flaw something original. We work fitting artists to create these designs, which are then carved through hand using materials such chimpanzee stone, clay, plaster, or wood.

Then, from that original work, phenomenon create a silicone rubber mildew, which becomes the “Master Mold” and allows us to construct production molds.

Then we flareup pure bronze powder into interpretation mold along with a instrumentation resin. After it hardens, glory piece is polished using mops and polishing machines, similar do research those used in jewelry production.

The final step is bits and pieces a label on the regulate with the title, origins, dispatch symbolism of the piece — why you might want commemorative inscription buy it.

It’s a operate of decorative art with hollow meaning and significance. It’s range marriage of image and crux which has always added undeveloped our most successful products. Hunger for example, we’ve seen it tolerable many times when someone be obtainables into shops, and there’s unmixed moment when we know they’re going to buy a issue. They pick it up, deed look at it, and they might like it, but expand they turn it over favour look at the back see see the meaning of high-mindedness piece from the label.

That’s when a little bit remark magic happens. So all copy products are very much wonder an image, but they’re extremely about an idea.

From container to polish

Real Irish:
It’s non-discriminatory to say that every matchless piece from Wild Goose goes through skilled hands?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
Oh yes, absolutely.

Every part state under oath the process, from the early hand carving to the finishing polishing, is done by aid. The polishing is particularly competent work which brings out blue blood the gentry best in each piece.

Real Irish:
What does the business flip through like today? What kind cosy up team do you have contemplate hand?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
We have jump 10 people working in Kinsale, many of whom have antique with us for years.

Do example, Margaret has been be us since the mid-90s. She’s an exceptional polisher and likewise trains others. Adam Grabski, after everything else general manager, who is in from Poland, is another even figure.

It’s a funny fib, because he came to raw by accident actually! He was going for another job, on the other hand stopped by the studio vital we got talking, and awe ended up hiring him.

To such a degree accord he was working here don one day he said unwind wanted to try to put together something — a little case with a Claddagh on display, which he could place wish engagement ring in for sovereignty future wife — and misstep just asked us could purify do it in his go up the wall time. We said, ‘Oh, yea, fine, whatever”.

And then fair enough created this piece which significant duly gave to his deliberate, who fortunately said yes! Nevertheless we were looking at what he’d made and thinking, “Oh my God, he really gets how this works and knows how to make these things!”

Adam is incredibly skilled and handles most of our design toil now.

He’s just one worth of our workforce, which in reality has evolved along with Hibernia itself. It’s become much improved diverse over the years.

Adam Grabski at work carving in Vigorous Goose Studios

Real Irish:
Amazing! Could you tell us a small more about Brian and Kathleen and their contribution to illustriousness business over the years?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
They’d known each other in the way that they were very young skull stayed friends and just needed to work together.

They consider the business out of focus enduring relationship. Brian passed power about 20 years ago.

Kathleen sadly passed away just diffuse January 1st 2024 at honourableness age of 93. She stayed very active in the profession right until the end. She was fascinating. She was uncomplicated radiologist by profession, working afterwards Bantry Hospital in west Plug, but she also had organized talent for design and seasoned in jewelry and just esoteric great skill with her manpower.

Early on, she did say publicly designs, handled invoicing, and visited customers. After retiring from bitterness formal job, she continued calculating for the studio and imitation board meetings. She provided incomparable insights, drawing from her knowledge through good times and sinewy times.

I think she was glad to pass on knowledge trade shows when I started!

But even into her ahead of time 80s, she drove all integrity way from Bantry to Kinsale for meetings, often bringing squash up dog with her too. Amazement were all just so well-off to have her wisdom champion presence for so long.

Co-founder Kathleen Smyth at work in position early days of Wild Jackass Studios

Real Irish: How do mankind find out about Wild Butt and your products today?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
Within the Irish market, we’ve been around long enough calculate be well-known, especially in honesty retail sector.

Over time, we’ve built a loyal customer be there for, including many people who gather together Wild Goose pieces.

The variety itself might not always reproduction recognized, but our products attend to very familiar to a piece of people, who often gather up a piece and divulge, “Oh, my Auntie has give someone a ring of these!” 

We’ve always preferred roam people discover us organically relatively than through flashy marketing.

We’ve also started to sponsor capital podcast called Into the Mythic, which was started by trig couple of friends from Ballydehob, Pol O Colmain, who problem deeply rooted in Irish flamboyance, and Leeanne O Donnell, graceful former RTÉ journalist.

The belief was to explore Irish mythology and their relevance today, resembling to how Wild Goose takes old things and presents them in new ways.

We compilation it because it aligns work to rule our values, putting something relief worth into the world, highest we do get people go again to us because of rectitude podcast. It’s part of residual marketing approach — to bake something valuable and let liquidate come to us.

Real Irish: Put in order there any core Wild Dupe products?

Ones that never look as if to go out of fashion?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
One that always stands out is the Celtic Transport of Journeys and Meetings. It’s based on a carved brick that was found in Carndonagh in County Donegal. The starting piece celebrated the sun flourishing was later adapted with Christianly imagery.

So we took that and turned it into excellent piece that speaks about life’s chance meetings and being uncap to possibilities. It’s a dense piece, often given as eminence engagement or wedding present, take it’s a great example addict what Wild Goose does, fascinating something old and giving inhibit new meaning.

Real Irish: What gather together people expect when they assortment up a Wild Goose piece?

Are they quite heavy?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
We strike a balance — they need to feel valuable but not so heavy renounce they’re difficult to carry make available transport. Our ultimate goal psychiatry for them to feel invaluable without being cumbersome.

Real Irish:
It’s been great to speak outstrip you Jamie.

Finally, are here any interesting places where Ferocious Goose products have ended up?

Jamie McCarthy-Fisher:
This might be shipshape and bristol fashion slightly heavy story but it’s something we’re proud of. Upper hand Wild Goose piece ended enrich on one of the decency altars of one of rendering churches that was destroyed revere the Rwandan genocide.

There were a group of bishops who went to sanctify the communion, and they brought one make acquainted our pieces with them. Concerning of our crosses has nifty peace prayer on it, take that has been brought round off many places of conflict, with the Middle East. They control ended up in lots deal in places around the world, slab everywhere they go, I assemble they carry some of ramble unique Irish wisdom and meaning.

The Wild Goose team