The three Musketeers on a recent sourcing road trip to Counties Kerry and Limerick

In early autumn, the three of us - John Furlong, Kevin Reid, and Philip Darling - set out from Dublin on a sourcing trip for Vintage Art. The plan was simple: a few days on the road, visiting museums and private collections in search of interesting pieces that could be reimagined into future artworks. The reality, as it turned out involved, a very long drive, a fair amount of coffee, and the occasional moment of childhood wonder.

We travelled South, stopping for lunch in Urlingford, County Kilkenny, where the lure of rice pudding proved almost too strong for Philip and John. After four hours on the road, we arrived at the Kilgarvan Motor Museum in the Kingdom of Kerry. There, Trevor Mitchell greeted us warmly and gave us a tour of both his museum and private collection. Kevin was in his element, ferreting out hidden gems like a man on a mission and we came away with several solid, well-made finds - each one with a story already whispering from the metal.

From Kerry, we drove North to County Limerick for a private viewing of a substantial collection of military trucks and classic cars. The variety was impressive, and so was the attention to preservation - though we nearly lost John amongst the military recovery trucks. Later that day, while walking through the local town, we were invited to peek in on two ongoing restorations: a canary-yellow BMW 2002Ti and a tidy VW Golf GTI imported from the States. In another nearby garage, we stumbled upon a boot lid from a 1950s Daimler Conquest Century. It took both John and Kevin to carry it out, a fine reminder that "built to last" used to mean "built to weigh a ton."

After an overnight stop in the town of Bruff, our final visit was to Pat Conroy at Castle Oliver. Philip rediscovered his inner child on a giant tree swing while the rest of us admired the setting - a house so grand it felt like it should come with its own thunderstorm and film crew. We came away with the gift from Pat of a pair of rear light clusters from a 1950s Chrysler, each one weighing over a kilo - we look forward to reimagining them into Vintage Art.

In all, we acquired around thirty items, each with its own story and potential. Now it's back to the workshop, where our design and reimagining process begins. What was once part of a vehicle or a machine will soon take on a new life as transport-inspired art. At Vintage Art, that's what drives us - the search for craftsmanship, character and history in materials others have left behind. Every piece we bring back from the road carries its own past, and with a little imagination and becomes something new once again.

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