Light and Shade

Celebrating through Collaboration – 5 years at Breac.House

Since the early days of dreaming about what Breac.House could be and what our guests would experience, one of our key ambitions was to surround ourselves with the work of as many local Donegal and Irish makers as possible. Our vision was to create a contemporary, bespoke setting within which our guests would experience a new form of modern Irish hospitality – through the new luxuries of time, space and generosity.

This has resulted in a series of collaborations with a community of very talented makers on everything from furniture to soap to textiles and works of art. We have previously explored each of these collaborations in a series of journals available to read at Creative Collaborations

As we reopened our doors earlier this year, and reflected on the five years since we welcomed our first guests, the time seemed right to look at doing something a little bit special. And so we reflected on elements of the experience that truly connect our guests to our surroundings – and to the changing light and shade which dominates our daily existence here on Horn Head.

The weather and landscape around us on Horn Head and Sheephaven Bay changes constantly. Guests often say that they simply come here to watch the weather change through their window - the ultimate form of slow meditation. When we considered the names we would give to each of our guest rooms, we thought of the range of local, natural elements that would form part of the guest experience with us. The answers became clear as we considered the key sensory influences of seaweed on the beach, gorse on the headland and the ever-present influence of the boglands whether through flowers, food or fuel. And so our room names of Dulse, Turf and Gorse were born.

In each of these rooms, we have beautiful original ink drawings created for us by our friends at Superfolk which individually reflect each of the rooms in which they are located and which collectively reflect the key elements which our guests will experience during their time with us – through each of the senses of taste, touch, sight and smell.

The ink drawings, expertly prepared by Joanne Butler of Superfork, are elegant in their design and beautifully simple in their execution – using deep oily black ink against a plain canvas background. The amazing contrast of light and shade, of textures, and of subtle natural design all contribute to a truly beautiful work of contemporary vernacular botanical art.

To mark 5 years of Breac.House, and on this mid-summer day of maximum light, we are very excited to launch our latest collaboration with Superfolk - a bespoke limited edition stationery keepsake set that would allow our guests to bring a little piece of the sensory experience home with them and possibly share with others. As believers in the traditional power of a well printed card, the smell of a beautiful envelope, the joy of receiving a hand-written note and the benefits of doodling & sketching , we couldn’t resist creating a bespoke Breac.House stationary set.

The limited edition stationary set consists of a set of 12 large notecards reflecting the unique ink drawings of Dulse, Gorse & Turf in each of our guest bedrooms, matching envelopes and a beautiful notebook with a specially commissioned cover drawing reflecting the view that guests see from their rooms. All is presented in a bespoke handprinted box that can be kept long after all the lovely notes have been written – or replenished with more over time. These very special limited edition boxes are available now to purchase by on-site guests and are also available for purchase on our online shop website.