While at NCAD, Blathnaid completed two internships with international fashion designers.

The first was with Esther Perbandt in Berlin. ‘It was great working for Esther, she had a fairly small set-up but this was also great from an intern’s perspective as I got to see a great deal about how she ran her business and it improved my sewing skills greatly.’

Her second internship was with Richard Nicoll in London. ‘It was another great experience although more challenging in certain ways. Richard Nicoll’s work is very inspiring.’

She also pays tribute to Mel Bradley, the Drogheda-based textile designer and artist who assisted her with the technical side of using silk fibers on wool and how to hand paint the silk pieces.

Her final year collection for the NCAD degree fashion show and exhibition was very well received and she received several orders. After staff from the Design Centre attended the degree show, she was one of the students asked about selling their collections in the city centre gallery. ‘It is brilliant to have the support of such a high profile Irish fashion outlet,’ she said. ‘I have my full collection selling there along with a couple of additional garments and It is such a thrill to be selling next to some of Philip Treacy’s pieces.’

Her work has been featured in the Irish Times and IMAGE magazine.