Celebrating ten years in her historic Dublin 7 studio and shop, Jennifer Slattery proves that small, locally made pieces can have a big impact.
Photography: Doreen Kilfeather
Words: Sarah Finnan
Crafting Irish table linen since 2011 and a line of womenswear that now includes a broad range of skirts, trousers and dresses since 2015, Jennifer Slattery’s love of textiles and design was ignited from a very young age. “I lived in Chilanga, in Zambia, for a number of years. As a child, I was really attracted to the graphic textiles over there. There was a sewing school down the road from where I lived, and I ended up going to them once a week.” Jennifer studied graphic design at college, but after five years in the working world, she decided to follow her instinct and enrolled in a textile course at NCAD. “I had a lot of encouragement from my family because it was a bit mad to go back to college at age 27 and do a degree in embroidery.”
Her graduate collection was an immediate success – the range sold out within a matter of days – and that planted the seed for her eponymous label, which launched soon after. “If you think back to 2011, it was a pretty bad recession, but there were a lot of empty studio spaces being rented out cheaply and the government had schemes to help people set up businesses. I think a lot of creative businesses flourished at that time.
“It was hard to make any money, but I was able to get involved with different factories around Ireland that I wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise. They were open to working with small businesses because they were quiet. I had no kids then, so I was footloose and fancy-free. I got on the road, I drove around and got to know the different weavers that I work with like Emblem Weavers and McNutt of Donegal. Those relationships take time, they don’t just happen.”
In fact, one of Jennifer’s top pieces of advice for aspiring designers is to do the same. “I’ve gathered a great team around me, I couldn’t do it without those people. Having good people around you and just being good to people is what it’s about because what goes around, comes around. It’s really important to be open and sharing and have a community. You can look at other businesses as your competitors, but I think there’s great strength in all of us working together.”
A decade ago, Slattery and her then-neighbour (now studio mate) Jamie Lewis of Flock Studio, took on the renovation of a derelict building on the corner of Benburb Street in Dublin 7. Together, the duo restored two adjoining structures into shop studios. The shutters and boards that once covered the windows were repurposed into display shelving and today, visitors come from far and wide to visit the historic redbrick between Smithfield and Stoneybatter. “None of it was planned,” laughs Jennifer, who admits it was passersby knocking on her windows and asking to come in that encouraged a more open-door policy.
“People love to see what we’re doing. We’re doing all of the embroidery here. We have a work table that takes up a lot of the space, and whatever we’re working on, it’s on the table,” says Jennifer.
Describing herself as “shy by nature”, Jennifer initially preferred to work in isolation but now welcoming customers in is one of her favourite parts of the job. “It informs my designs. We need to make a living, so there’s no point just making things that I think are great. I really take on board what people tell me – positive but also negative. Having gone to art and design college, I love good criticism. I don’t get that from my mother! She’s like, ‘Everything’s brilliant’ so I need somebody to tell me the truth.”
Many of Jennifer’s designs are rooted in nostalgia, with one of her most popular. pieces inspired by her grandmother’s cutlery. “I cherish the things she left me. Back then, they wouldn’t have had a lot, but they really minded what they did have, and I love that.” Inspired by that idea of “buying one good thing”, Slattery hopes that her designs become heirlooms. “I designed that knife and fork motif 14, 15 years ago, so that’s a testament to the idea that you’ll have these pieces for a long time. They’re classic, but with a twist. It’s the same with our clothing. The first top I designed was vintage-inspired and that’s still a bestseller.”
There’s plenty on the horizon too, with a new stockist in Liberty London, a collaboration with Indigo & Cloth and lots of fresh designs in the works. “We’re embracing a lot more of the embroidery, embellishment and appliqué in our clothing for next year.”
Yet everything Jennifer makes remains made-to-order in Dublin, individually cut and sewn. “It’s slow, things take time,” explains Jennifer, who has no interest in growing the business beyond its means. “I don’t ever want my designs to be mass-produced,” she tells me.
“When I started out, I didn’t really know how business was meant to go. I felt like I was failing if I wasn’t getting bigger. But when I had my daughters, I just decided, ‘no’. There’s beauty in small business.
“In the early days, I had lots of people saying, ‘You should go to China, you’ll get much more for your money’. There was less interest in sustainability and pieces that were made locally – it was a harder sell than it is now. But things have changed: now for small businesses like mine, that’s our strength; making small amounts, careful production, and being really thoughtful.” jenniferslattery.com
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of IMAGE.
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