Cape Elizabeth resident Colleen Boland has turned a love of her Irish heritage and an appreciation for its art from hobby to a job.

On her yearly trips to Ireland, Boland, whose grandparents immigrated from Cork to America, collects unusual art from the country and brings it back to Cape.

“I like having Irish stuff around. That’s my culture,” she said Sunday. And apparently, other people do, too. On her latest trip in October, Boland returned with 300 pounds of pieces of her heritage. As of November, she has been selling it online, and she said her business, Nora Nora Irish Imports, is “doing really well.”

This weekend, Boland is opening up her home to the public to showcase and sell her collection of work by five Irish artists. From 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the pottery, prints, wall hangings and woolen items will be on display and available for purchase.

Through her frequent trips to Ireland, Boland has come to know the artists who featured in her collection, as well as the stories behind their work.

She knows the couple who hand weave the colorful wool scarves and the family who has taken over Cuala Press, a company that makes handcolored prints of pictures and poems and that was started by the sisters of the poet W.B. Yeats. She knows the man from Cape Clare Island who is trying to preserve a piece of history with his wall hangings that depict men in old Irish boats. The hangings are made from the same black resin as the boats.

In general, Boland looks for more contemporary art, but she doesn’t mind if it comes with a traditional twist. She knows people love rifling through the pottery covered in Celtic designs and “finding one that really jumps out at them.”

But no matter what the piece, its not going to be something you can find anywhere else in America – and not even in too many places in Ireland.

“I love bringing over stuff that is not seen in all the stores,” she said.

And, if her business is doing well, there’s more than one perk for Boland.

“I’ll just have to go over for reshipping,” she said.

Colleen Boland sits at her Cape Elizabeth home with some of the art she has collected from her yearly trips to Ireland. Boland is hosting and show and sale of the art this weekendd.