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On the banks of the River
Nore in southeastern Ireland, Nicholas Mosse
meticulously works a wet slab of clay into the shape of
a vase. His studio is tucked away in an old
converted flour mill, and the energy from the passing
river helps fire the kilns. Thousands of miles
away, at Harp and Thistle Imports in Peoria Heights,
some of Mosse's finest pieces adorn the shelves in all
different colors and sizes.
For Betty Rohman and Ann O'Neill, owners of Harp and Thistle
Imports, finding Mosse's pottery and other authentic,
unique Irish merchandise is the key to their business.
It is also an activity they enjoy tremendously.
Each year, they attend Showcase Dublin, a trade show in Dublin
featuring well-known companies such as Waterford Crystal
and Belleek Pottery, and new artisans hungry for
attention from American buyers.
"It's a lot of fun. They always have entertainment at the
show, and we really enjoy finding new things," Rohman
said. "And it's the only trade show that includes
a Mass (90 percent of Ireland's population is Catholic),
so that makes it interesting."
Showcase Dublin is where Rohman and O'Neill discovered Wild Goose
Studios, a small studio out of Kinsale, Ireland, that
produces ornate bronze and metal wall pieces.
Just about everything on Harp and Thistle's shelves comes directly
from Ireland or Scotland.
It is the only authorized Guinness merchandise seller between
Chicago and St. Louis, and its various Irish food items
are nearly impossible to find in grocery stores.
They even sell white pudding, which is actually a
sausage patty, not a dessert. Anyone who ever
stayed in an Irish bed and breakfast would remember it
as one of the popular items included in the
complimentary breakfast. Soda bread, shepherd's
pie, jams, tea and other culinary items also are shipped
in regularly.
"We've had customers tell us that they just got back from Ireland
and they didn't want to carry many things back on the
plane. So, they came in here to buy things,
instead." Rohman said, "It's nice that they think
our store is the next best thing to actually being in
Ireland."
Rohman said the jewelry is becoming the most popular item in the
store.
"We sell a lot of Celtic wedding bands," she said.
The store has a library of books by Irish authors, some of whom
Rohman and O'Neill met personally, including Bill
Cullen, author of "It's a Long Way from Penny Apples,"
about the man who grew up in the slums of Dublin and
went on to turn the Renault car company into a $250
million business.
Harp or bagpipe music plays in the background to accentuate the
Celtic atmosphere inside the store. Occasionally, Rohman
said, they turn their large front window into a stage
and have a live harpist perform.
Rohman said about 26 percent of Peoria's population is of Irish
decent, so she often gives advice to customers who ask
about tracing their family heritage or making a trip to
Ireland.
Rohman and O'Neill are active in Peoria's Erin Feis, an annual
Irish festival on the riverfront, and Rohman is vice
president of the Friends of Clonmel, Peoria's Irish
sister city organization. Both are members of
Peoria's St. Patrick's Society which is how they met.
But, Rohman said, Harp and Thistle is not just for people of Irish
heritage.
"We like it when people who are not Irish come in to shop, too,"
she said. "A lot of our gifts, like the Belleek
Pottery, for example, would look nice in anyone's home,
whether they are Irish or not."
Later this month, Rohman and O'Neill will receive a shipment of
Avoca knit-wear (capes, scarves, etc.) just in time for
winter.
"They know how to make warm clothes over there," she said. |
