Our next Business Club event is going to Galway and you won’t want to miss it

As the IMAGE Business Club has grown, we’ve noticed our members coming from further afield. We like to make life easier for you wherever possible, so we are thrilled to be able to bring our next live event to the gorgeous city of Galway. On Thursday, September 21, the IMAGE Business Club heads west to host our first live event outside of Dublin. Join us at The g Hotel & Spa for an evening of networking, insights and new ideas from outstanding speakers.

So much is said about the brand, and yet there’s still a lot that we feel we don’t know. As the world, and the business environment within it, evolves with lightning speed, consumers are looking for new ideas, new solutions and new ways of communication around their purchasing decisions.

On the night, IMAGE contributing editor Melanie Morris will be joined by Gráinne Mullins, CEO and founder, Grá Chocolates, and Sonia Deasy, CEO and founder, Pestle and Mortar; two of Ireland’s most evolutionary businesswomen, both of whom have built world-class brands which continue to gather momentum. Gráinne and Sonia will share their views and learnings in entrepreneurship and brand-building, while communications expert Natasha Fennell, leadership and communication advisor, Stillwater Communications, will help us identify the key elements to developing and nurturing our own personal brand.

We’ll be talking about everything from the role of influencers in amplifying a brand’s personality to the magic, possibly unplanned opportunities that have befallen our speakers’ businesses and how they maximised these moments. Plus, the myriad roles each of us has to play in business and how we can live up to the expectations, work, and our chosen careers put upon us.

As always, the evening will include drinks and canapés on arrival, opportunities to network with your fellow IMAGE Business Club members, a luxury gift bag for each attendee and the chance to win a fabulous prize.

SCHEDULE

6pm – 7pm: Network over Micil Gin cocktails and canapés
7pm – 8.30pm: An information panel discussion with our experts
8.30pm – 9pm: Meet the speakers and network further

GIFTS & PRIZES

Each attendee will receive a luxurious gift bag from Ella & Jo worth over €70! The gift bag includes their hero products – Melt the Day Away and The Miracle Mask.

Melt the Day Away – Cleansing Balm is a luxurious and nourishing cleansing balm-to-oil cleanser, the ultimate nighttime treatment that cleanses, hydrates, and nourishes your skin for a bedtime ritual to melt the day away. It’s the perfect treat for every skin type.

The Miracle Mask – Hydrating & Plumping is an intense hydrating, plumping, skin-drenching treatment for your skin three to four times a week. Designed to work with any skin routine to maximize your current routine results and hydrate your face, neck and decolletage to reveal plump, hydrated and healthy skin. Incredible to use pre-event or party, this mask is a must-have in everyone’s skin collection.

Win a prize

Plus, you will be in with the chance to win a fabulous prize – a €300 Peachylean voucher.

Peachylean is an Irish-based athleisure business providing stylish, high-quality, supportive, high-waisted gym leggings. Peachylean are on a mission to help women to feel comfy and supported in their skin and to feel their best every single day. So often, our inner critics keep us feeling self-conscious and stuck in place, hindering us from becoming the best version of ourselves. Peachylean wants to help women overcome this, so they can see themselves as they really are: beautiful, everyday heroes, who are enough, just as they are.

WHEN & WHERE

When: Thursday, September 21 at 6pm
Where: The g Hotel & Spa, Wellpark, The Old Dublin Rd, Galway, H91 V0HR

TICKETS

Tickets are priced at €55 incl.VAT, however, IMAGE Business Club members receive access to one COMPLIMENTARY ticket. (Join the club for €200 ex.VAT now to claim your complimentary ticket!). Each attendee will enjoy Micil Gin cocktails, delicious canapés, a gorgeous gift bag and the chance to win a fabulous prize.

Business Club members claim your complimentary ticket here.

Places to this event are available on a first-come first-serve basis and are limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment. In the event you cannot attend the event, we kindly ask for a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. 

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Gráinne Mullins, CEO & Founder, Grá Chocolates

Luxurious and decadent, Grá Chocolates are exquisite artisan confections made with love in county Galway. Created and crafted in small batches by award-winning pastry chef Gráinne Mullins, each exquisite chocolate is meticulously made and painted by hand. Combining the finest raw ingredients with native Irish flavours, it’s time to experience the pure taste of happiness.

The genesis for Grá Chocolates is Gráinne Mullins, a pastry chef with over 10 years of experience in high-level, fine-dining establishments. Gráinne was listed on the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30, was the winner of the Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year title in 2019, and has amassed over 10,000 social media followers for her chocolate and dessert designs. The innovative, responsive and stylish chef has a huge audience and fanbase in Ireland, the EU and beyond. This has already proven to be a very important show window to her market and she has been consistently posting about her chocolate creations generating a pre-launch buzz for when and where followers can buy her product.

With her insight, talent and knowledge of the food industry, Gráinne is in a unique position to source the best local Irish ingredients while embracing her ethos of showcasing fantastic local producers, such as Sliabh Aughty Honey and Achill Island Sea salt. Using local produce not only supports other local businesses, but anchors the USP of the brand and reduces travel miles, all of which is in keeping with the company’s ethos.

Great family cooking was a part of Gráinne Mullins’ childhood, and she grew up in Galway with a love and respect for good food. Setting foot in a commercial kitchen as a teenager only deepened her connection with food and she began working part-time in the pastry section of five-star hotels. Interrupting a science degree to move to France, she spent two years working in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Aix-en-Provence. Cooking won out over science, with Gráinne following her heart. Returning home to work in pastry in many of Ireland’s leading kitchens, the self-taught chef was the winner of the prestigious 2019 Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year. Channelling the skills, artistry and joy she has learned from some of the country’s most talented chefs, Gráinne founded Grá Chocolates in her hometown of Kilchreest in 2020.

Natasha Fennell, Leadership & Communication Advisor, Stillwater Communications

Natasha is a leadership advisor and communication expert. She’s also a qualified executive and career coach. Over the past 20 years, she has become Ireland’s go-to person for senior executive communications, using Stillwater’s unique story-led approach. 

Her work spans across designing narratives for business strategy and change, to coaching for pitching presentations and media interviews. Natasha also delivers masterclasses, workshops and in-demand keynotes on Storytelling for Business, The Art of Confidence at Work, Personal Brand, Political Intelligence and Communicating with Excellence. Her background includes working with RTÉ, Ireland’s National Broadcaster, and political communications. Natasha’s approach is thorough and highly practical, and she instils long-lasting confidence in all her clients. 

Natasha has always been an advocate for women at work and has driven change at the highest level across organisations and industries. In recent years, she ran the presidential campaign for Senator Joan Freeman, directed the campaign for a female candidate in the Trinity College provost elections, and co-authored an international bestseller The Daughterhood with Róisín Ingle. 

Her current work with women includes developing female CEOs and helping them create and deliver their personal brand strategy. She’s highly sought after by female senior leaders to help them develop their narrative, create their messaging and coach them for delivery. She frequently coaches broadcasters, retired sportswomen and actors to help them transition to their new careers.

Sonia Deasy, CEO & Founder, Pestle & Mortar

Sonia Deasy is the Founder and CEO of Pestle & Mortar, an Irish skincare company that launched in 2014. As a busy mother of five, Sonia understands how difficult it can be to find a daily skincare routine that is both simple and effective. She became determined to find a simple daily skincare solution to remedy dull, dehydrated skin. Driven by the belief that skincare shouldn’t be complicated, she created a line of simple, but highly effective, skincare products.

Pestle & Mortar’s philosophies are rooted in Sonia’s Indian heritage in Natural Healing. For six generations, her family have practised as Medicine Men in India. By combining high-performance active ingredients with nourishing natural extracts, Sonia has created a routine of products that are pure, safe and suitable for all skin types.

Since the phenomenal success of her first formulation, Pure Hyaluronic Serum, Sonia has catapulted the company onto the global stage. Pestle & Mortar is now stocked in 30 countries across three continents. The range has been endorsed in some of the most prestigious international magazines including Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New York Times. Pestle & Mortar’s first physical store opened in designer shopping destination Kildare Village in 2022. Offering an elevated store experience, the store showcases a curated selection of products and hosts unique educational experiences and events for customers.

The new, permanent store will allow the brand to showcase a curated selection of products from its signature skincare range, Essentials dermatologist-approved sensitive skin range, and NIMBU luxurious body range – and also host unique in-person educational experiences and events for customers. Before establishing Pestle & Mortar, Sonia worked alongside her husband in their portrait photography studio. They continue to work together today and live in Kildare with their five children.

TICKETS

Tickets are priced at €55 incl.VAT, however, IMAGE Business Club members receive access to one COMPLIMENTARY ticket. (Join the club for €200 ex.VAT now to claim your complimentary ticket!). Each attendee will enjoy prosecco, delicious canapés, a gorgeous gift bag and the chance to win a fabulous prize.

Business Club members claim your complimentary ticket here.

Places to this event are available on a first-come first-serve basis and are limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment. In the event you cannot attend the event, we kindly ask for a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. 

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