A brief history of Chupi

I was the kid covered with glitter & glue, the one making some new crazy thing out of papier mache, but I never thought I'd end up making beautiful sparkly jewellery as my job.

Aged 17, I wandered into Se-Si in Temple Bar, a crazy bright pink building in the heart of Dublin with some of my very first creations: beat up vintage Levis turned into a bag, lined with bright pink satin and adorned with a rose. I sold my first piece that day and I was hooked, the idea that something I had created had made someone else happy was like a drug! In 2006 aged 21 I found myself studying Fashion and was picked by Topshop scouts when I was in my first year of college, the youngest designer ever to work with Topshop. I went from scruffy student to serious designer, from making 3 or 4 dresses a week to having 9 wonderful employees making 3-400 dresses a week. We sold over 40,000 dresses.

In 2011 my gorgeous fiancé told me I needed a hobby, and I couldn't help but start making the jewellery I wanted to wear but couldn't find anywhere. A friend asked for a piece, a stylist loved a pair of earrings and suddenly another fashion baby was born. My jewellery is made for your inner magpie, gorgeous delicate pieces in the shiniest semi-precious gems and 14 k gold.

None of our designs are mass produced, each piece really is handmade with love in Ireland. I think the point of fashion is to make you feel like a cooler, sexier version of you, hopefully I achieve a little something of that.

x Chupi