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“My reaction was one of great excitement!” says Galway milliner Emily Jean, whose shop Emily Jean Atelier is located in Moycullen, Galway. “I was so excited to see Hannah wearing one of my Irish linen hairbands – and not just once but several times.”
When Emily Jean heard that the Neelemans were in Ireland she thought that her ‘Fiona’ Irish linen hairband would be a perfect fit for Hannah who is known for her aspirational (and often divisive) wholesome content that embraces traditional homemaking, cooking meals from scratch, animal husbandry and church-going.
“I sent a message wondering if Hannah would be open to receiving a gift,” says Emily Jean. “I was then asked to email a bit about who I was and my background. I received an email saying that Hannah would be happy to receive a gift but that there would be no guarantee that she’d post or tag a photo of herself wearing it.”
Emily Jean sent a couple of designs including the linen piece that Hannah has been spotted wearing and another design featuring a Liberty print fabric. “I was thrilled that she decided to wear my piece and I was delighted with her photos – she was pictured wearing it with her hair up and down, during cookery classes, on family outings and on her husband’s profile so she seems to be getting great wear out of it,” says Emily Jean. “She hasn’t tagged me yet but I’m still holding out hope!”
I asked Emily Jean if she regularly works with influencers to promote her products. She says that, as a small independent brand, the influencer marketing route is not one that she has gone down as one often requires deep pockets to do so. “As a small brand I don’t have the budget to pay people to wear my designs,” she says. “And indeed, as time goes on, I am becoming even more selective about who I send samples to in terms of whether or not the product suits the person and reflects my brand values and my ethos. For me, it’s not really about the number of followers a person has – it’s about the right followers – whether they align with my brand and my own followers or not.”
The headband that Hannah Neeleman has been wearing is a design that Emily Jean came up with during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a milliner specialising in the creation of headpieces for occasions such as weddings and the races, the impact of the lockdown was seismic for her business and she had to pivot quickly in terms of the products and services she was offering. She developed a range of headbands or ‘turbands’ that were a perfect foil to salon closures and grey roots and that also tapped into the huge surge in the use of platforms like Zoom at that time. Initially featuring Irish linen, the range has grown to encompass around 30 different styles including bridal pieces and embellished designs perfect for weddings and the races.
“There was massive support for Irish businesses during the pandemic and I think what helped a lot was the media getting on board and asking the public to support Irish design – every magazine you picked up, every radio show you tuned into was calling on people to support local businesses,” says the Galway-based milliner who initially trained as a jewellery designer.
“Obviously there’s been a huge amount of change in the past few years in terms of how people are buying and what people are buying. I think [support for Irish brands] peaked during the pandemic but it did really help me to develop a strong customer base – I have one customer who has bought almost every one of my headband designs since then.”
The designer, who is a member of The Council of Irish Fashion Designers and of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, says that having a physical boutique as well as an online store allows her to get great feedback from customers: “Every time that someone tries something on they’ll give me feedback or request certain features such as longer netting or a particular type of embellishment. Every comment I get from a customer helps me when I’m back at the drawing board creating new designs, so I am always in tune with what my customer is looking for.”
Currently in the process of a website redesign and brand refresh, Emily Jean has also been working hard on promoting her styling service and her range of accessories which includes jewellery and clutch bags.
“Over the years I have become known for styling people for special occasions, such as the races and weddings, so I decided to expand the range of products that I offer people in order to help them to put together full outfits. Some people will not know what they want or will ask for help with styling while others will have an idea of what they want and will be quite fashion forward but still want some advice,” she says of her customers. “Whether it’s an everyday piece or a piece for a wedding, I will offer people styling advice in terms of colours to accentuate their outfit, what accessories should be worn, complementary products that might work in terms of a clutch bag or earrings and so on.”
Photography by @emilyjeanatelier and @ballerinafarm.