Boshay Arts and Crafts was founded by its Creative Director (Francis McIlveen). Francis was brought up in Antrim Town, Northern Ireland. As a teenager he became interested in Arts & Crafts whilst working at Donegore Fine Arts in Antrim with his duties being resin casting, wax moulding and shaping. Below are just a few of the products which Francis produced.

Through his works at Donegore he befriended Gareth Knowles, a well known and respected sculptor from Northern Ireland, and under his influence became more interested in the creative side of Arts & Crafts assisting Gareth in his sculpting. Please see below three pieces of Gareth’s work:

Racing Suite’ [1994, Bronze] Commissioned by the Sladmore Gallery, London.

‘Horse’ [1985, Precious Metal] Commissioned by the Sultan of Brunei.

In the early nineties Francis moved to Hungerford, England and worked alongside Gareth’s father in the architectural salvage business where he developed an interest and flair in cast garden decor and furniture. Returning home in the mid nineties to carry on with his creative works he then met Angela his wife. They started a family and for a small period Francis then had to take up work in the construction industry but continued to make candles and cast resins as a hobby in the evenings and at weekends.

However Francis’s passion for the Arts and Crafts soon took hold once again and both Francis and Angela decided, while the kids were still young, to join Gareth out in Spain. As he was already established there for a few years Francis was able to team up with him once again, producing some the unique pieces you will see in the Boshay range today i.e. The Castle and The Large Lovers Candle.

               
                                                                  


This is where the idea for Boshay originated from, through his interest and flair for arts & crafts and Gareth’s artistic talent for sculpting Francis then decided to return home once again to launch the Boshay range of products. With his invaluable experience and the knowledge of both Francis and Gareth in the arts and crafts world Boshay is able to offer a very unique service to the marketplace of Northern Ireland.