Ómós Digest: #29 The Yard Crew
Locally handcrafted gifts from an incredible social enterprise.
Welcome to the Ómós Digest. This newsletter will hopefully bring you on that journey about the food you were looking for, or perhaps never knew existed. It is our quest to expand on what we don’t know and to share with those who care. If you haven’t read Newsletter #1 yet, it can be found here.
This newsletter is brought to you by Cúan Greene, Founder of Ómós.
There's an old street in the neighbourhood I live in called The Coombe in the south inner city of Dublin. The Coombe is in fact a historical street found in The Liberties - another historical part of the city. It was originally a hollow where a tributary of the River Poddle once ran. In the 17th century, The Coombe was home to an entire industry of clothiers, thousands of French silk weavers and Dutch woollen mills. While many original buildings remain, including the beautiful Billies built by the Dutch, The Old Meath Hospital was demolished to make way for a less flattering (but necessary) Dublin corporation housing development. The only entrance porch was retained as a monument today. I often pass it without any great awareness, my thoughts fixated on my destination or that eagerly anticipated coffee by the crossroads. In reality, many of us are guilty of wandering the streets with our heads buried in our phones. Our feet subconsciously navigate us to our destination, arriving mid-scroll with only a vague memory of our journey. It's a rather sad thing to reflect upon but the truth is that the average Irish person spends over 4 hours a day on their phone, with only a fraction of that time being productive.
Since establishing that Ómós has grown to a point where we now require a premises - a space beyond the beloved shared rental prep kitchen - each building I pass now piques my interest. Although the corporation housing behind the hospital monument is not exactly the dream location I hanker for, my newfound property obsession has my eyes searching for opportunity and settling on the extraordinary. Despite passing the monument every day for the last 3 years, I never noticed what lay behind it. I’m talking about The Yard.
The Yard is a social enterprise that equips young people with skills and knowledge to enable them to fulfil their personal and professional potential. The ultimate goal is to increase opportunities for employment. The 16 week programme known as The Yard Crew allows young adults to experience hands-on working environments, learning everything from woodwork skills and bike repairs to the ins and outs of running a social enterprise. While the project offers an amazing opportunity, the work carried out by the students is incredible.
Admittedly I have a soft spot for ware. Instagram’s algorithm has figured this out and constantly taunts me with vessels of all descriptions, including ceramics, pots and brushes made from bog oak. I typically ignore the commercial style of pottery with lustrous glazes and potter spirals left imprinted in the crevice. Instead, I gravitate towards the more imperfectly perfect styles by makers who are perhaps influenced by Japanese firing styles such as hagi, shino and raku. Therefore it’s no surprise that my introduction to The Yard came when two skillfully carved bowls on display in a local grocery caught my eye. These were not the oversized commercial and overpolished bright orange pieces you might see in a dodgy craft fair (the kind people with oversized houses have on display on their oversized hallway tables). They were unvarnished, matte and made from what looked like walnut but when held in the hand, felt, well.. wholesome. The vessel’s bases were each given a small foot so that the bowl stood up elegantly and almost proudly. I bought both and have since used them for every single one of my dinners. I had wondered where The Yard could be found but ashamedly, I never took the time to locate it…
That morning on The Coombe I stood outside the workshop in complete disbelief that it had been on my doorstep all along. I was watching through the window display like Ralphie from A Christmas Story - the Red Ryder BB gun replaced by a plethora of handcrafted wooden bowls. Programme Manager Ashling Golden must have spotted me gawking as she almost instantaneously came out to greet me with a wide smile before ushering me in. The space was a hive of activity. Under the watchful eye of their instructors, a collective of young workers operated bandsaws, cutting away at various pieces of lumber which were soon to be handcrafted into the bowls, plates and honey dippers which adorned the workshop. They were simply beautiful and available to purchase there and then.
Ashling explained that while the staff are paid by government grant schemes, the proceeds earned through the product's sales go back into the pockets of the makers. It's a fantastic initiative run by remarkable people with a big vision. Yard embodies the very fabric of The Coombe. A cornerstone behind a great monument for a community within old Dublin. The individual work of the young makers is of the quality of seasoned professionals and I believe it’s no surprise that I stumbled across The Yard just in time for the festive season.
A gift that makes a difference
If you would like to purchase products made at The Yard (highly recommended) you can visit their online shop or pop into the store. Their opening hours are between 9-6pm from Monday to Friday (link to maps here).
