In the second of our series in collaboration with The Shopkeepers, we visit Industry & Co in Dublin, Ireland.
Vanessa’s first shop was a tiny space in Dublin’s Temple Bar. To help with the business side of Industry she enlisted her brother, Marcus, a tech entrepreneur living in London. Within a year, based on customer response and sales, Vanessa knew her concept was working. She started looking for a larger space in a more accessible location.
Two years ago she found the perfect space in a building on Drury Street and Marcus moved back to Dublin to work alongside Vanessa. In her role as Creative Director, Vanessa has filled Industry with timeless vintage pieces and new product she sources from India, France, Scandinavia, Japan, the US as well as Ireland. She is a proponent of mixing vintage pieces with modern furniture to create more interesting rooms and interior stories.
Industrial design tends to be masculine so she uses textiles and glass to soften the look. Room sets are displayed throughout the shop to enable customers to easily imagine how the furniture will look at home. A best seller is the lighting and Vanessa has created a clever display for customers to shop. Marcus and Vanessa always wanted food to be part of their lifestyle concept for Industry.
When Marcus joined Vanessa full-time as Managing Director of Industry he was able to develop the food side of the business, which launched five months ago. Vanessa and Marcus believe people eat with their eyes first and have created a visually enticing food display. The food also has to taste great and they borrowed influences from Marcus’ French Moroccan wife, Kadija. Healthy Irish ingredients are combined with subtle flavours from the Middle East. Offering food has introduced a new dynamic to Industry, customers can drop in on a regular basis for a delicious coffee or lunch as well as visit when looking for larger furniture purchases.
Vanessa and Marcus have created a wonderful experience for their customers, and have plans to expand the floor space as they continue to develop and expand the food Industry offers.
Industry, 41 a/b Drury Street, Dublin 2
