Since establishing in 2012, Bláthín Ennis’ distinctive brand of boldly sculptural yet delicate and feminine fashion-focused jewellery has earned her the title of Jewellery Designer of the Year at the 2014 edition of the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards. Her designs have been worn by Nicole Scherzinger, Vogue Williams, TV presenter Kathryn Thomas, and are stocked in stores nationwide after successful participation in Brown Thomas’ Irish Designer’s CREATE initiative.
How did you come to develop your own brand?
I finished college in 2011. I suppose I never set out to have my own brand or business, although I felt I would always like to. I moved back home to Wexford and was looking for work there, but a lot of positions had been taken. I had applied to my local garden centre – I love gardening in my spare time so thought that would be a lovely thing to do. They had heard that I went to NCAD, so they asked me to participate instead in their Christmas Design Fair and offered me a stand free of charge. My degree collection was all inspired by the working woman, and I designed couture accessories that complimented the ‘little black dress’. My whole graduate collection was made to give myself the opportunity to make a ready-to-wear line, so I tentatively experimented on creating a ready-to-wear jewellery line. I was so nervous going into the fair, showing work to the public at a sales level, and I think within the first hour I had completely sold out and I got a huge amount of compliments on the point of difference of my work. I decided that this could be a good road to take as I really wanted my work to be accessible.
Your work really does have a strong point of difference. Would you describe yourself as a jeweller, a fashion designer, or somewhere in-between?
I specialised in Embroidered Textile Design in NCAD. During my third year in college I interned with New York based fashion designer Diane Von Fürstenberg, so I have always had a huge interest in fashion. My degree collection combined both fashion and textiles and I was one of only six textile designers who participated in the college fashion show, so I would definitely describe myself as somewhere in between. At the moment my focus is the jewellery market but I have many more ideas up my sleeve!
Where do you get your inspirations from?
I like to think my pieces convey strong, structural and unique shapes, but at the same time I am always focused on creating a feminine and wearable element in them. My current blush collection for SS16 was inspired by the Centaurette scene in Walt Disney’s Fantasia. Walt Disney as a visionary has always been an inspiration to me, how his work is accessible to children and adults alike. In the Centaurette scene, there are these half-women half-horses, and you can see their strength but they are still very feminine with the feminine embellishments that they wear and the soft colour palette of the scene. I wanted the collection to have heavy sparkling embellishments and strong shape, yet in a very feminine, light blush colour.
Could you tell us about the materials you use?
I’m very passionate about sourcing unconventional, unusual materials and I source different things from all over the world. The most distinctive style that I would be most associated with at the moment is my light shell mesh and crystal. It’s light, easy to wear and a more contemporary design-led approach to jewellery. I don’t tend to start out with a very specific end-point in mind when I’m designing and experimenting, I tend to let the material speak to me and work with it instead of forcing an idea. It’s quite an organic process.
What would you say is your proudest moment since establishing your brand?
It’s hard to pinpoint one moment since starting my business. I’m totally overwhelmed and humbled by the support from my lovely retailers and customers in Ireland. Their support has kept me in business and I am so grateful for this. But definitely, walking by the Christmas windows of Brown Thomas on Grafton Street last December and spotting my couture neckpiece in the window was the ultimate surprise and a very proud moment for me! Since I was a small child I would visit these windows every year and look on in complete awe and their incredible displays. It was a ‘pinch myself’ kind of moment!
What do you have in the works for 2016?
I’m currently working on an exciting limited edition of 14 karat gold jewels that I will be launching over the next few months. I’m very lucky that 2015 was a great year for me so I’ve now taken on two staff members, as I’ve pretty much have had to do everything myself so far. I want to keep everything being made in Ireland so to get help with that now is great. I’m also looking forward to expanding the brand abroad during the year and looking at retailers in London, the UK market and Europe as well.
Bláithín Ennis Jewellery is stocked at The Kilkenny Shop, Nassau Street, Dublin 2. You can find out more at www.blaithinennis.com
Words: Honor Fitzsimons
Photos: Bláithín Ennis
