9 Crow Street is Emma Fraser, Dean Ryan McDaid and Melissa McDermott. Started in December 2010, perched on the corner of their namesake, 9 Crow Street quickly developed a reputation for its deadly vintage clothes, lovely atmosphere and amazing team. Working with them for the summer, I soon saw why. Their enthusiasm and creative ideals are infectious so I caught up with the gang for a chat about how it all began, the move online and their future plans.
At the beginning of the summer, 9 Crow Street moved the entire business from Temple Bar to their new home, 9crowstreet.com. Transferring online was a big move but a move that has worked for the team.
Not being in the shop has given them the space to fix up the little things and the time to figure it all out and think about the direction they want to take the brand in. Mel particularly misses the customer interaction; “I miss the regulars that we had coming in, we miss the community of Temple Bar.” Emma adds that even though they miss having the shop, they’ve been so distracted with working really hard on the website and thinking about the future of 9 Crow Street.
“We’re planning loads of big things in the next few months” Emma says, “big expansion plans.” For now they are playing their cards very close to their chests but we can be sure of some exciting developments in the not too distant future. “More nice clothes,” as Dean puts it.
Individualism is key, each of the three have their own role to play. Together, the business they have carved out now is a result of years of hard work, putting a lot of us onlookers to shame at their achievements and their general attitude towards their work and the people around them. It just fits. There’s not many businesses you could think of who would take on seven summer interns and give them the space to develop their ideas, be it for shoots, blog posts, and videos. The intern programme has become a big part of what they do.
Moving online has allowed 9 Crow Street to sell to a much wider market. “We’re international now, we weren’t before,” Mel says. People all over Europe, America and Australia have all had vintage wear from Dublin sent their way. A major part of this is blogger collaborations, bringing onboard the stylish folk who influence us and invoke jealousy at the same time has proved to be the perfect pairing.
Leaving in a flurry of hugs – there are more scarves to be photographed, new stock needs to be put up, and a quick shoot to be done – you can see why 9 Crow Street is the business that it is. Who knows what the future will bring? One thing is for sure, 9 Crow Street will keep inspiring us and our wardrobes for a long time to come.
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