The Ultimate Arty Shopper for Animal Lovers, Eco-Fans and Fine Art Aficionados
A Kelly bag may be the Hermès handbag of choice! But for sustainable street cred and serious joy, look no further than Kelly’s Art Bag.
Three new printed tote bag designs from the celebrated Wicklow-based artist, Kelly Hood, are the funky, fashionable and sustainable choice for summer staycations, day trips and sneaky shopping expeditions.
Handcrafted in Ireland, these gorgeous Art Bags feature some of Kelly Hood’s new original animal artworks. They include ‘Stay Foxy’, a fine and friendly young fox with kind eyes, and ‘The Mystic Raven’, an enigmatic creature, majestic in his blue-black plumage.
Both these striking artworks are represented on a black background, with matching black bag handles that are wide and sturdy.
‘The Good, the Bad & the Ugly’, one of Hood’s most popular countryside paintings, has also had the tote bag treatment. Three of the cutest brown cows, peering over a rustic stone wall and watching the world go by, make this textile creation a ‘totes adorable’ must-have for city slickers and rural rangers alike.
Each tote bag is a generous 40cm x 40cm size, printed with eco-friendly pigment inks onto a smooth 100% cotton half-panama weave. Featuring a silky black lining, the bags have an inside pocket and black strap, and can be washed or spot cleaned with a mild detergent.
Costing €39.99, the sturdy shopper is a cheeky style statement that is bursting with eco-friendly attributes. The Art Bag comes beautifully packaged in compostable tissue paper, tied with ribbon made from recycled coke bottles. And, the artist is donating 10% of all sale proceeds to The Wildlife Trust, a conservation charity Kelly Hood has a long association with.
Kelly Hood’s Art Bag can be viewed and bought online at www.kellyhood.com and in stockists including gift shops and department stores.
Printed Gifts Collection
These new additions to Hood’s collection of illustrated textiles make a useful and thoughtful gift. Packaging includes an original art gift-card, and online purchases made as gifts can be sent directly with a personal note enclosed.
Artist Kelly Hood is famed (and framed) for her super realistic monochrome paintings of the cutest farmyard animals and authentic countryside scenes.
Comical cows on canvas and a liberal sprinkling of sheep with attitude and doe-eyed donkeys feature in her work, as well as a little pinch of pig who cheekily slipped in under the wire!
With the drive to support local artists and makers affected by retail closures, Kelly Hood branched out with her collection of printed gift items last autumn.
Reproductions of some of Kelly’s classic works, including ‘The Three Amigos’, ‘Peek a Moo’ and ‘Blood Brothers’, now appear on mugs, tea-towels, cushions and greeting cards. Printed gifts start from €12.00 and unique greeting cards are €5.00.
Kelly Hood’s website showcases an extensive collection of her original work, inspired by the natural world, on both canvas and natural wood, where the grain adds a subtle organic tone.
Framed and mounted limited-edition prints of her most popular works are priced from €55.
Originally from the Dingle peninsula and now living in Wicklow, Kelly Hood is a graduate of Limerick School of Art and Design.
Her charming contemporary work is sold online at www.kellyhood.com and she is represented in galleries countrywide. Commissions for original paintings are also accepted.
