Dublin-based designer and craftsperson Róisín Pierce works at the intersection of traditional Irish textile techniques and contemporary making. A graduate of Textile Design: Fine Art and Artefact from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, she has received international recognition including the Chanel Métiers d’Art Award, the RDS Craft Prize (2020) and the Future Makers Award. Her work has been featured in Le Monde and is stocked internationally at Dover Street Market.
Her practice centres on sophisticated fabric manipulation through labour-intensive hand processes such as Irish crochet lace, hand smocking and whitework traditions. Working in a distinctive white-on-white aesthetic, she creates sculptural textile constructions where intricate detail emerges through light, shadow and texture rather than colour. Each piece exists at the intersection of haute couture fashion and the crafted artefact, reflecting a deep respect for materials and the processes used in their making. Pierce’s work engages with Ireland’s craft heritage, examining how historically undervalued women’s textile practices can be reimagined through contemporary making. Through workshops teaching Irish crochet lace alongside her mother, she contributes to the preservation and transmission of intergenerational craft knowledge.
Róisín Pierce applied for a Golden Fleece Award to support an eight-month period of research and development exploring connections between Irish crochet, smocking and Mountmellick embroidery. This period would allow her to develop new work bringing together distinct Irish whitework traditions while undertaking research with craft collections, heritage centres and textile practitioners across Ireland.
