What is the Amo & Pax Project?
At Amo & Pax, the aim is to offer a different sort of shop—one that reflects a more conscious form of retail, design, and making. It’s about selling and buying, sourcing and making responsibly, using natural materials, and even repairing and upcycling on-site. The idea? To reimagine the shopping experience, evoking the sense of exploring at a market or brocante. It’s a space designed to nurture wellbeing and the human spirit, while celebrating creativity and creating in a beautiful environment.
Main Benefits of Amo & Pax
Here are some key highlights that set Amo & Pax apart:
- Design, ethics, and sustainability are at the heart of both the bricks-and-mortar store and the offerings.
- Carrier bags reinvented from cement bags, hand-stamped with ink—talk about responsibility and creativity!
- On-site repairing and upcycling with a fabulous tailor, using vintage fabrics and embroidered patches.
- Partnerships with trusted Irish makers—jewellers, potters, pattern makers, printers, graphic designers—and knitwear companies, embroiderers, and weavers across Europe.
- Small runs of handmade clothes, each garment a signature piece, reflecting true handmaking.
- Handmade ceramics, hand-dipped and fired just up the road, designed to travel well.
- An activities and events space offering classes and workshops around yoga, meditation, and self-development.
- A building that marries old and new—solar-powered, thickly insulated, reglazed, and wheelchair accessible.
Reimagining Retail with Responsibility
Amo & Pax isn’t just a shop; it’s a fresh take on retail that’s more holistic and purposeful. It’s about creating meaningful experiences that reflect a conscious approach to designing, making, selling, and buying. The project embraces the idea that everyone has a responsibility to be more thoughtful and is constantly testing and redesigning to find a different model of a shop. It’s a nod to an era when connections between makers and customers were direct and local, fostering a community that values individuality and sustainability.
Repairing and Upcycling: Giving Clothes New Life
One of the standout features is the on-site repairing and upcycling service. With the help of a skilled tailor, Amo & Pax uses vintage fabrics and embroidered patches to breathe new life into clothes. It’s a chance for people to reclaim lost pieces and put their own stamp—or patch—of individuality on them. Why should favorite items not live on, uploved and reborn? This approach celebrates creativity and sustainability, turning the old into something fresh and meaningful.
Craftsmanship and Artisan Partnerships
The project thrives on nurturing relationships with artisan producers. It partners with a diverse range of makers, from trusted Irish jewellers and potters to pattern makers, printers, and graphic designers, as well as knitwear companies, embroiderers, and weavers across Europe. This network supports handmaking and small-batch production, ensuring that each piece is individual, interesting, and playful. The focus is on quality and connection, not mass production.
Project Impact: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Supporting local artisans and small-scale producers.
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – Promoting innovative retail models and sustainable design.
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Creating inclusive, accessible, and community-focused spaces.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Emphasizing repair, upcycling, and sustainable sourcing.
- SDG 13: Climate Action – Utilizing solar power and sustainable building materials.
- SDG 15: Life on Land – Using reclaimed and natural materials, supporting biodiversity through responsible sourcing.
The Space: A Blend of Old and New
The building itself tells a story—marrying old and new in a way that feels both modern and timeless. Offices were stripped out, repurposed, and reshaped, upgraded and upspeced with solar power, thick insulation, and reglazing. Accessibility is a priority, with wheelchair-friendly design. Materiality matters here: exposed plaster, wooden floors, rescued doors, and a gently curved wall of reclaimed bricks enclosing the exterior space. Salvaged gates mark the entrance, and the shop sits among trees, embodying a spirit that’s both contemporary and rooted in tradition. Like William Morris believed, Amo & Pax applies art to useful wares—creating something that’s not only useful but joyful too.
