A Childhood Framed by Story
Sophie was born into a world where film-making, art, craft and heritage were part of everyday life. Her parents, David and Sally Shaw-Smith, spent the 1970s and ’80s travelling across Ireland documenting traditional crafts, often with their children beside them, as they filmed lace-makers, carpenters, boat-builders, weavers, and artists. When Sophie was five years old, they turned the camera toward their own family, filming three documentaries while living on the island of Corfu in Greece. They capture the easy sunlit rhythms of those months together connecting with the flora, fauna, people and customs of the island. When Sophie was nine years old, they filmed the “Sophie Films”. Seven short films that documented the small details of early childhood. Growing up within this world of cameras, stories and skilled hands, Sophie learned early that creativity was not separate from life.
A Journey Through Craft
Sophie studied textile art and design at NCAD, where she developed a deep sensitivity to colour, texture, and the quiet narratives held within materials. Working across weaving, print, and mixed-media processes, she learned how pattern, repetition, and touch could shape a visual language. Her years at NCAD became a period of exploration: experimenting with form, learning to trust instinct, and discovering how her own artistic voice could emerge.
A LIFE SHAPED BY LOVE
In her twenties Sophie moved to Kathmandu, where she met Romio Shrestha, a Thangka painter who would become both her partner in life and in art. The two spent years exploring the Kathmandu Valley and the landscapes beyond it, travelling through temples, villages, and mountain paths that shaped their shared visual world. Nepal’s vivid colours and clear mountain light offered a striking counterpart to the softer palette of Ireland, and these experiences deepened Sophie’s instinct for atmosphere, pattern, and story. Her time there was a period of spiritual awakening, adventure and creative companionship that continues to echo through her work today.
A Sacred space
Sophie and Romio, with their four daughters Amber, Topaz, Metta and Jaya, created their home and studio in Glencar, County Kerry. A space that reflects their shared vision: two bodies, two minds, one soul. The home has become a living backdrop for all the family's art, and together Sophie and Romio invite visitors to share the space in an exploration of the spiritual self through art, art as a mirror to your true nature.
