Do you fancy yourself as a stylist? Online charity shop Thriftify, in tandem with Irish sustainable advocates The Useless Project, has launched a search for Ireland’s top sustainable stylist. This online pre-loved fashion styling competition is encouraging all slow fashion enthusiasts to get involved for the chance to win €100 and a trip to a charity shop warehouse where the winner will have access to countless treasures before they hit the shelves. Pictured is Geraldine Carton from the Useless Project who along with her partner Taz Kelleher tells me: “We would love to find people who know how to make clothes sing and stand out from a crowd; and who can find a preloved jewel among the rest of the bargains on Thriftify. We’ll be showcasing the top contenders on our Insta Stories, so letting the public have the final say on the top sustainable stylist.” For information on how to enter visit www.thriftify.ie or @theuselessproject Instagram page.

Have you taken up “hoop art” – the new name for embroidery? Someone who is more than an expert is textile artist Aileen Johnston whose offbeat artworks are singular and engaging. Exploring the natural world and the seasons, they shimmer with detail, jewel colours and intricate borders. Her new works can be viewed online from today until March 3 at The Doorway Gallery. There’s also an invite to get to know Johnston during a Facebook question and answer session. For more information visit www.thedoorwaygallery.com.

If you are missing theatre, tune in to dlr Mill Theatre on Friday, February 26 at 7.30pm for a special performance of Eclipsed, written by Galway native Patricia Burke. Directed by Kate Canning, the play is set in a Magdalen laundry during the 1960s. Starring Rachel O’Connell as Brigit (pictured) and Laoise Sweeney as Sister Virginia, it is one of the first plays to tell the story of the Magdalen laundries and was inspired by Burke’s own experience as a young novitiate at the laundry. Her play highlights the plight of four women who struggled to bear the austerity of their existence and break free from the shackles of this era of societal repression. Online tickets are €8 from www.milltheatre.ie.

The Irish Socksciety is offering a prize of an iPad, photoshoot (to the value of €1,000) and the chance to become a sock designer. After the success of its inaugural Irish Socksciety Design competition in 2020 where Galway was the focus, this year’s theme is a celebration of Dublin. The society is asking people to design their own take on the capital which will then be made into wearable and creative socks. The competition runs until March 15. For details and conditions visit www.irishsocksciety.com.

Tickets have just gone on sale for a new eight-week online art appreciation course at the National Gallery of Ireland. Cities and Suburbs: Life, Leisure and Landscape begins March 30 and is led by art historian Dr Kathryn Milligan. Incorporating Dutch, French, Italian and Irish art, the course covers the 17th to 20th centuries with depictions of “city and suburb” via paintings, drawings, prints and archival collections at the National Gallery of Ireland. Taking place on Tuesday evenings, each week’s session will cover something different: from panoramas and maps to hawkers and street markets, urban calamities to the social city. The course is suitable for amateurs and experts alike – participants will receive a recording of each week’s session, allowing for maximum flexibility. www.nationalgallery.ie