Borrisokane Community College students through to regional final of Junk Kouture

Borrisokane Community College Transition Year students Emma Connolly and Orla White have made through to the regional final of the Junk Kouture competition with their entry 'On Pointe’.

Their design is based on the revival of old Irish craftsmanship. Many projects rely heavily on glue and they wanted to try create an outfit using traditional techniques. Throughout the process they have broadened their craft level and learned many new skills such as weaving, knotting, braiding and threading. In times gone by the lake was vital for people and how they lived, they wanted to incorporate some of the materials and techniques they used as they were vital to keep them alive.

Their design was created using bulrushes, sourced from our local lake, Lough Derg. They dried and wove the bulrushes into a corset using various different methods of weaving. They knotted feathers, sourced from an old pillow using threads to create our skirt. For the headpiece they threaded together old custom jewellery and scraps from the metal work room. To finish off they sprayed the headpiece and old ballet shoes gold to match the design.

They hope to inspire more young people to learn Irish crafts by looking into the past and embracing them.. '......follow their Instagram account onpointe.jk for updates!