Two LEO Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown businesses announced as finalists in the Business of Craft Awards at Showcase 2024

Zelia Madigan & Bex Shelford have been shortlisted for the finals of the Business of Craft Awards as part of the Local Enterprise Showcase at Showcase 2024 which will take place from 21st - 23rd January 2024. The awards have three categories; Best Newcomer for the best craft and design business who is exhibiting for the first time, One to Watch for the best craft and design business who has excellent export and international potential and finally, Sustainability Champion for the best craft and design business who is excelling in sustainability.

• Zelia Madigan, founder and CEO of Conscious Convert, has been shortlisted in the Sustainability Champion category. Conscious Convert is a new thoughtfully designed organic lifestyle brand of smart-living homeware essentials with every piece created using natural organic materials.
• Artist, illustrator and print maker, Bex Shelford has been shortlisted in the One to Watch category in the inaugural Business of Craft Awards. Her imaginative work features art, prints and cards with one of her most popular collections being the `One quiet night rabbit series` featuring a series of artworks that reveal what the rabbits of Ireland get up to while we sleep . 

According to Owen Laverty, Head of Enterprise and Economics at LEO Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown:  

“The addition of the Business of Craft Awards to this year’s Local Enterprise Showcase at Showcase 2024 is a significant boost for the companies.  It helps to highlight some of the best-in-class businesses from the design and craft sector across the country, facilitation meetings with key buyers both nationally and internationally .We are delighted to see our clients, Bex Shelford, and Zelia Madigan`s collections feature as finalists in the 2024 Business of Craft Awards”.

Showcase 2024 will be a huge event for all the dlr LEO clients who include - JR Games, Beads and Crystals, Motini Candles, IL Gemstones, Melanie Hand Design, Bex Shelford, Roisin Curran, Bawn Knitwear, Bodhi Blends and Conscious Convert. The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) awards were open to all the LEO clients who are exhibiting at the event as part of the Local Enterprise Showcase.  This is the first year of the awards that celebrate the businesses behind the amazing craft and design products that are created across the country.  Local Enterprise Showcase is one of several enterprise initiatives run by the Local Enterprise Offices across the year to foster entrepreneurship and help small businesses to start and grow. Other events include Local Enterprise Week, National Women’s Enterprise Day, the National Enterprise Awards, the Student Enterprise Programme and the Local Enterprise Village as part of the National Ploughing Championships. For more information on the Local Enterprise Offices and the supports they can provide.

For further information, please contact https://www.localenterprise.ie/DLR/