Irish brothers Jonathan and Mark Legge, who grew up in a family of architects, have built an online “Shed” in which they carry a curation of simple, beautiful and occasionally odd locally crafted objects. Their now-international venture is called Makers & Brothers, and stands out against aesthetically similar shops by providing everyday objects of use with a contemporary vernacular: a kind of utilities shop for the artisanally inclined. Hand-picking a rich variety of high-quality “objects of integrity,” the duo maintain an intimate relationship with their local makers, not only cataloguing their time together through interviews, photos and stories that are then shared online, but additionally providing feedback and ideas to make their products more interesting. Continuing the rich history of Dublin and Ireland’s design and craft (geographically isolated, the culture is historically self-sufficient and strong in local identity), the products reconnect to the basics: from traditionally-woven products to sheepskin stools to woodturned, glass or crockery vases. The first Shed, the original physical manifestation of their shop, was located in their parent’s backyard in Blackrock, Ireland, but since then has popped up in New York City’s East Village, Dublin’s Brown Thomas department store and Shoreditch, London. The venture operates primarily in the virtual but has the ‘friendly neighbour’ ethos to meet and greet their customers: the Legges open their doors in the summer, offering the possibility to pick up merchandise at their headquarters, in addition to bringing The Shed on tour for promotional events. If you plan on stopping by, the guys recommend you give them a call first as they can be tricky to find.
Abbey Court, Abbey Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin