A custom-made bag emblazoned with the Kerrygold logo has made a starring role on the red carpet at the Mercury Prize.

Irish musician and singer CMAT, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, was among the nominees at last night's (Thursday, October 16) awards in Newcastle, UK.

The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the UK or Ireland.

Sam Fender was announced as the overall winner for his album, ‘People Watching’.

Kerrygold bag

Kimberly Tino, owner of luxury Irish fashion brand Maya Grisham, who made the bag, told Agriland that it had been specially commissioned for CMAT by Kerrygold.

"The bag that we made for CMAT was actually a collaboration, so they reached out and said, 'Would you like to make a Kerrygold bag for CMAT, and we'll commission it?' So that's how CMAT ended up getting the bag," Kimberly said.

"For her to choose to go with the Kerrygold bag was just a great moment. It's great to see Irish fashion and style being put on the forefront," she added.

When asked about the bag during an interview on the red carpet, CMAT said, "I love it so much".

She also joked that Kerrygold could pay her in "butter and/or money" for wearing the bag.

"Those are actually my two favourite things," she said.

Fashion

Kimberly Tino was born in Zimbabwe and moved to Ireland when she was three-years-old. The family, including her parents and brother, live in Co. Meath.

Kimberly is a full-time student, currently in her final year of studying optometry.

In November 2023, she decided to start the her fashion business, which is primarily focused on luxury hand-encrusted handbags, as a creative outlet.

"It's really taken off in the past few months, and I'm really grateful that people really love all of these lines that I create," she said.

Kimberly launched the first of her popular food-themed bags, based on a Tayto crisp packet on St. Patrick's Day, 2024.

She followed this up with bags based on Guinness, Brennan's bread and Kerrygold butter.

"It's just things that give me more memories of growing up, because every weekend, my mom, dad and my brother, we'd have a big fry over the weekend.

"It was the one thing that I really looked forward to, just spending time with the family. And it'll always be Kerrygold, it'll always be Brennan's, it'll always be Denny's sausages," she said.

7,500 crystals

Crafting these special bags takes many hours of painstaking work. Each Kerrygold bag has approximately 7,500 crystals and takes two to three days to complete.

"I work with a metal joiner, and then we get the base made. I line the bases. There's custom labels in there that's made as well.

"Then it's placing the crystals, crystal by crystal. It is very meticulous work, I won't lie, but when you finally get to the end, you take a step back and you're really proud of yourself," Kimberly said.

Kimberly told Agriland that a Barry's Tea handbag is currently in the works for this Christmas.

While the designer, who is always open to custom orders, is also planning on making a crystal-encrusted tractor handbag which may coincide with the National Ploughing Championships.