My Summer Capsule Collection With Nour & the Merchant
Inspiration for my latest capsule collection with Nour & the Merchant began with the phrase “pretty but deadly.” I was reading a lot of folktales and stories about the fae which embody that dichotomy well; the fae are often described as beautiful and alluring, but also incredibly dangerous. Humans were always tempted into dire straits by magical beings—sirens luring men beneath the waves, fairy songs making mortals dance until death, etc. I wanted to design a collection of clothing that celebrated some of the beautiful elements in the natural and magical world that appeal to our eye but also pose a threat to our lives. Something beautiful with a nod to the deadly and dangerous, clothes for women who like feminine, “soft” silhouettes but hide daggers up their sleeves.
We started with the “Poison Garden” dress featuring our custom print of deadly flowers. Foxgloves, lily of the valley, deadly nightshade, and oleander blossoms weave a pattern around a sly wolf, a spade, and scissors. The story of the print is those beautiful, poisonous flowers, but also the gardener how grows and harvests them. A clever, dangerous woman perhaps and who knows what purpose she finds for these poisons. The dress silhouette is romantic and breezy with elastic ruching in the front and back for a flexible fit for a variety of body sizes and silhouettes. I love how the overall design reads as something pretty and romantic, puff sleeves and a flowing skirt, but only those who look a bit closer will see the danger in the design—its beauty as deceptive as the delicate bells on lily of the valley.
Thinking of the woman who grew her own poison garden helped inspire the next dress in the collection: the “Apothecary’s Apron.” This flattering dress in tan linen is reminiscent of a workman’s apron donned in a dusty apothecary where dried herbs hang overhead and a cluttered workbench is filled with mortar and pestle and dozens of tiny bottles with yellowed handwritten labels. We didn’t want to limit this dress to a more literal apron style that needed a dress or blouse underneath to be worn, so it’s cut so perfectly to be worn alone with no other clothes, but it can also be styled with a blouse or dress underneath. A really versatile little dress in a light brown shade perfect for summer, but also wearable into autumn and winter. I also love the contrast between the more durable linen and the satin-sheen of the ribbon detail too, another play in contrasts and dichotomy of elements.
The last piece is a real dream design for me—a printed chemise. The “Mystical Beasts” chemise is cut in a classic billowy chemise silhouette, but in a custom print of magical animals. I love a classic loose blouse or chemise and feature them in so many of my outfits, but I always wanted a printed version to make outfits a wee bit more interesting. I’ve never been able to find any in stores, so being able to design this one with Nour & the Merchant was such a pleasure. It has all the wearability of a classic chemise dress that looks good alone, or belted, or with a corset, or layered under a skirt, or styled with a pinafore, but a bit more spice because of the unique print. The custom print goes back to the “pretty but deadly” inspiration while taking the more magical angle then the other pieces, with thorny roses weaving between a dragon, gryphon, and kelpie. All awe-inspiring magical creatures one would love to see, but incredibly dangerous creatures best avoided. The pattern also manages to weave together all four elements with the roses representing earth, the kelpie a creature of the sea (water), the gryphon symbolizing air, and the dragon, fire. Each figure also has a different heraldic meaning, but I also wanted the print to be fairly neutral in tone to work with a wide variety of garments and span the seasons. I think despite the print it’s such a versatile little dress that you can wear in so many ways.
It’s been so wonderful designing pieces with Nour & the Merchant and I love what we’ve come up with this season. Hopefully it will do well as we always put our heart into these pieces—sometimes I think I’m going to drive Cristina mad with the nitpicking over the print designs and colors or the exact sleeve length! We’ve also created an exclusive discount for the first 50 customers to purchase something from this collection. Use code “poison” to save 10% and you’ll also get a free headscarf in one of our custom prints.
One question I get asked again and again is: what should I bring with me on my holiday to Ireland? I always hesitate to give advice on packing because try as I might, I am far from an efficient packer! I inevitably come home from a holiday with a bag full of clothes I didn’t wear and things I regret bringing! The same happened to me again recently when visiting some of our favorite parts of Ireland with friends from abroad, but one pair of shoes I was quite glad I brought on all my adventures was the 
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Always bring a rain jacket! No matter the season you visit Ireland in or type of activities you prefer, waterproofs are a must. Winter can be mild, summer can be cold, but you will almost always get rain. Sometimes it’s only a gentle mizzling rain, sometimes it’s lashing at you sideways on the top of the Cliffs of Moher! A good rain jacket will help keep you dry no matter the conditions while also being lightweight compared to an umbrella. I don’t often feature my rain jackets since I don’t like taking pictures in the rain to avoid damaging my camera, but they’re probably some of the most worn pieces in my closet and I never go on a trip around Ireland without one.
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Carry cash. Most places in Ireland will accept card payments, but there are still some shops that are cash only as well as tolls on the roads if you’re driving, so it’s wise to have some Euros on hand if you’re traveling around Ireland and pounds if you head up to Northern Ireland. I wouldn’t carry much, but even when we were visiting Garnish, an Irish island off the coast of Cork, we were informed just before our ferry ride that the entrance into the gardens on the island was cash only. Definitely something you need to know before you get on a boat and head across the water! Again, it’s not very common these days, but it does happen and I never regret having a small wallet of Euros on hand when we travel around Ireland.
There’s probably loads more things that would be handy for you to bring on your trip to Ireland, but that’s the quick list that comes to my mind, especially based on my recent adventures. I got so much use out of my rain jacket this month and wore my 
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When I shared my cakes last spring with the edible flowers on them I got so many comments about “was I really going to eat those cakes with the flowers on them?!” And the answer is, “yes, of course!” I did my research to make sure every flower I used was edible and I put a lot of work into picking, cleaning, and using them to decorate my cakes so I definitely wasn’t going to throw that hard work away! From personal experience I’d add that flowers used as decoration don’t affect the flavor of cakes very much; they’re more there for decoration and texture. When you really want to get the flavor of a flower you usually want to distill it down to a syrup and then use that syrup when mixing drinks, flavoring cakes, icings, etc. Still it can be quite intimidating to start foraging and I often find that guides to certain plants don’t really tell us what they taste like—for example what is good in a salad and what’s better with sweets? So here’s a very small guide to a few easily identifiable spring flowers and what they taste like raw. Some flowers like lilac as well is something you almost smell more than you taste. I found all of these flowers on one walk and they should be in season for most of May.
I still hesitate to call myself a local in Ireland despite living here for seven years, however I do have the benefit of a true local (my husband) to offer travel advice. We’ve visited Wicklow a few times now and no matter the season it is one of my favorite counties in Ireland with truly breathtaking scenery and so much history. We visited recently in May which confirmed my personal theory that May is one of the best months to explore Ireland—in May every where is green again; the hedgerows are full of blooming hawthorn trees and cow parsley and the woods are dotted with bluebells. Wicklow is an especially lovely place to visit in this month because of all of the lovely gardens that populate this region. Here are some of my top tips for exploring this county with suggestions on what to see and where to eat.
File these under: utterly impractical but equally delightful. A handpainted candle that is so pretty you'd probably never want to burn it has to be one of the least necessary home goods, but at the same time I find myself contemplating whether I should get one or half a dozen. They're so pretty and give the best 
According to Celtic calendars spring starts in February with Imbolc; the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It always still feels like winter to me until at least midway through April, but already signs of spring have begun to emerge in the countryside—graceful snowdrops daring to bloom even through frosty mornings and the first crocuses emerging from the soil in a burst of vivid purples. Slowly but steadily the landscape is transforming. Already I have seen the first buds of the blackthorn beginning to sprout on the spindly branches in the hedgerows and tiny lambs are beginning to appear in the fields as well. When 
While I’m usually more comfortable in dresses and skirts I have been drawn to the newer silhouettes of jeans lately—like this straight, wide cut pair. I’m not sure it’s the best shape for someone with my body type and height, but it does feel refreshing to wear something so loose after skinny jeans for so many years! The 
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My other spring look is much more of my typical “cottagecore” style and my comfort zone when it comes to getting dressed. It’s funny looking at these two very different outfits I feel like most people would find the jeans outfit more “normal” but for me that silhouette and style is my getting out of my comfort zone and trying something different. The outfit I would wear most days and not think much about is definitely this one with the full skirt and floral print corset. Everyone’s normal and area of comfort is so completely different! I love how the 
