What started out as a college project is now becoming one of Ireland’s most exciting young businesses and if you haven’t heard of Glitz N’ Pieces before, then prepare for your accessories to get a whole lot prettier.
Founded by Grace O’Sullivan and Ellen Weber in their first year studying entrepreneurship in 2013, the brand started out as an assignment for one of their classes after the two friends saw a gap in the market for affordable women’s fashion accessories.
After the success of the project for college, the girls decided to stick with it and invested a small amount of money into creating their site and their logo, ‘From there we worked extremely hard to build our business to where it is today’.
They worked simultaneously on their college work and nurturing their growing business, and although this was difficult at times for the pair, it payed off after they graduated.
Glitz n’ Pieces stock everything from pretty jewellery to stunning handbags and perfect gift ideas like initial mugs and personalised key rings, however one of the most exciting new ranges to hit the site in recent months is the ‘G collection’.
“The inspiration for our G Collection was that we wanted good quality jewellery for everyday wear but at an affordable price. Each piece of jewellery in the collection is either rose gold, gold or platinum plated,” they explained.
This high quality is something that the brand has become synonymous with and is why we’ve seen the likes of Rosanna Davison and Marissa Carter wearing their pieces and rocking their handbags.
The girl bosses are now turning their attention to design as they get set to introduce their very own handbags to add to the stunning collection available online already.
“Our desire to create our own handbag designs came from us wanting to have our own range which was bespoke to Glitz N’ Pieces and two of our favourite designers would include Louis Vuitton and Lulu Guinness.”
It is no surprise that a handbag was in the pipeline as they feel this is the ultimate accessory and can give the same outfit different styles.
The girls hope to eventually only stock their own ranges on their site but that’s not all, they also aim “to be one of Ireland’s & the U.K’s largest accessory companies and to have our brand available in store across the U.K and Ireland”.
The constant input into their business allowed the girls to graduate college into fulltime jobs they had created for themselves, but it wasn’t always easy during the stress of getting a degree. “Trying to run our full time business when we were studying for our degree in college was a major challenge but we stayed extremely focused and achieved it and also received two honour degrees in entrepreneurship which was very rewarding.”
So what’s the secret to being so successful? What’s their advice for anyone who is looking to start their own business at such a young age?
“Make sure you know the industry which you want to create your business and ensure it’s a lucrative sector. Re-invest your money to build your business, stay focused on the goals for the business and work extremely hard to get your business up and running.”
Their business is growing so fast that the girls have just set up a brand new office which includes a showroom for potential buyers to check out their products. They have also just introduced a click and collect service so you can get your order almost immediately.
All of these new stages in the business are documented across their social media channels as they take their loyal fan base along with them every step of the way.
In 2016 Glitz N’ Pieces won best online boutique in the Frock Advisor/Xposé Awards and their star is still rising. They have over 40,000 Instagram followers and with plans of expansion and design on the horizon and the pure passion and drive these girls have, Glitz N’ Pieces will no doubt take over the Irish accessories industry in no time.
Amy Rohu
Image credit: Glitz N’ Pieces