Latest news with #EibhlinCassidy
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish diaspora setting up and running businesses abroad
Setting up or taking over a business anywhere is bound to have it's challenges, let alone doing it away from home. But these Irish abroad have done just that. Along the narrow, cobbled streets of the artisanal quarter of Cusco, Peru, is an atelier called Hilo, home to a slow fashion brand founded by Irishwoman Eibhlin Cassidy in 2003 in the historical centre of this ancient Inca capital high up in the Andes. 'Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store,' she says. The Fermanagh woman's business, which she describes as 'elevated everyday wear with a twist', was the only creative business on the street at one stage. 'It's now where Cusco and international creatives open up shop. It is full of little cates and artisan boutiques.' READ MORE Mark Saunders is known for rescuing Laulhère , the oldest and last authentic French company making berets who supply the hats to French military, armies in Senegal, Chad and Kurdistan and police in Dubai – and that's not including the berets sold in the fashion industry. The Dublin man has lived in France for the last 30 years and has settled in the southwest of the country. The most recent step in his career has been to take over Christy Hats, the oldest and largest hat-making company in the world with a history dating back to 1773. 'We made all the Peaky Blinders hats and 250 for all the crew members (of the drama series). We made hats for Downton Abbey and more than 30 movie productions,' he says. Saunders says brands like his are 'on the verge of extinction, but I hope Christys will see another 250 years. I love what I do and taking on these challenges is how I keep motivated. I am 56 now and see this as the last chapter in my career.' Beijing Correspondent Denis Staunton recently spoke to the Irish companies based in China, as well as Peter Markey, who chairs the Irish Chamber of Commerce in China. Markey first went to China 30 years ago and has spent much of the past two decades in Shanghai, where he was a partner at EY until he retired in 2018. He says the attitudes of the two nations can often benefit off one another in unexpected ways. 'The Chinese have this reputation of working crazy hours and all the rest of it but that's not the whole story. They quite like going out for a nice dinner and having fun with people. 'That's really when the Irish attitude to having fun and letting the hair down a bit can really help with developing relationships.' Ruairí Doyle has settled in Canada, though he had no intention to move from Ireland again after a three-year spell working for Google in London. That was, however, until an opportunity arose with Press Reader in Dublin in 2017 and the rest, as they say, is history. The job brought him to Vancouver and, in 2022, the Rathnew native was appointed chief executive. Now, he is enjoying the outdoor lifestyle in the thriving west-coast port city with his wife, Kim, and their two sons. 'It can be challenging at times, with me being from Ireland and Kim being from Quebec. We don't have the support network of grandparents around. We do our best to instil a bit of Ireland and a bit of Quebec into the boys. We have hurleys and sliotars in the garden and maple syrup and cretons in the fridge.' Meanwhile, columnist Laura Kennedy, who is based in Canberra, Australia, writes about the age-old saying that absence – or in this case, distance – makes the heart grow fonder and how she has relearned to be Irish and how to value the places she didn't appreciate before. This bittersweet part of emigration is shared by the expats down under that Padraig Collins spoke to. Fildelma McCorry has been in Adelaide since 1999 and says she is there to stay. During last November's election campaign in the Republic, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said during a debate that he was 'gonna get people's children back from Australia'. McCorry was not impressed, though: 'They always say that.' She says one of her daughters could spend a year studying in Dublin as part of her course, but the cost would be far too high, as despite having an Irish passport, she would still be considered a foreign student. 'Until they make those things open for diaspora children, it [everything the Government says] is just rhetoric, it's just talk.' And, for the few weeks it was, Patsy McGarry l ooked at the role of the Irish diaspora in electing Pope Leo XIV. Sure you'll find the Irish everywhere!
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Irish Times
An Irish woman in Peru: ‘I found it easy setting up a business here'
Along the narrow, cobbled streets of San Blas, the artisanal quarter of Cusco, Peru , is an atelier called Hilo, home to a slow fashion brand founded by Irishwoman Eibhlin Cassidy in 2003 in the historical centre of this ancient Inca capital high up in the Andes. Cassidy, who is from Fermanagh, studied ceramics in the National College of Art and Design and, after her BA in fine craft design, lived in Madrid for more than two years before completing a postgrad ceramics degree in Edinburgh College of Art in 2001. 'It was while I was living there that I had a yearning to travel to Mexico and Peru, and within a month of finishing my degree I was on a flight to Mexico and working in the studio of Gustavo Perez (the celebrated Mexican ceramic artist),' she says. On holiday in Chiapas in the southernmost state of Mexico on Christmas Day 2002, she slipped on stairs in a hostel while carrying a heavy backpack. The accident left her with broken bones in her hand and ultimately ended her ceramics career. READ MORE 'The local hospital put on a cast, but a month later in Costa Rica, where I went to have the cast removed, the bones hadn't healed at all and the doctors said I needed to return home for surgery and get pins inserted.' Defying that advice, she made her way down to Peru by bus and boat, arriving in Cusco in February 2003, and was immediately captivated by the city and its bohemian spirit. 'I was really inspired by the culture, the life that was so vibrant and colourful, the festivals and costumes, and so I started experimenting with second-hand clothes, cutting them up and remaking them in a new way,' she says. It also marked a turning point in that she didn't return home for three years, eventually going back only for her sister's wedding. Within a few months of arriving in Cusco, she had opened a small store selling one-off pieces of clothing – colourful, playful and original – that became an instant success with both locals and tourists. Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store Hilo is now an established business known for what she calls 'elevated everyday wear with a twist'. Her collections for both men and women work exclusively with Peruvian-sourced fabrics – vibrant jumpsuits, skirts, trousers, dresses and shirts are patched, overdyed, pleated, embroidered and hand stitched. In recent years she has been using natural dyes with plants from the Sacred Valley of the Incas in the highlands, in an ongoing project with women from the Pumaqwasin co-operative community in Chinchero. 'I found it easy setting up a business, and what started out as playing with cloth developed quite naturally – my store was the only creative business on the street and it's now where Cusco and international creatives open up shop. It is full of little cafes and artisan boutiques,' Cassidy says. Her success also led to her designing costumes for blockbuster films including Transformers and Paddington. Cusco has a vibrant social life, she says. 'It's easy to meet people from all over the world and make friends. And locals are so open and friendly. Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store.' She lives around the corner from her shop in a four-bedroom house 'filled with wood and glass' that has a small garden. [ An Irishwoman in Portugal: 'Blue skies, bilingual children and a flight home in three hours' Opens in new window ] Rents in the area can range from US$300-1,000 a month, while a two-course meal in a local market costs about €2.50. Eating out in a restaurant ranges from €8-€28, while the local market is full of fresh local produce, and tropical fruit juices can be bought for around €1.20. 'A fun fact is that Peru is the birthplace of the potato, with over 4,000 varieties,' Cassidy says. The downside to living in Cusco? 'Bureaucracy can be tricky and dealing with paperwork and legal stuff can be super frustrating. It can be chaotic, but that's part of the appeal as well. 'Stomach issues are common, mostly due to local bacteria, so you must be a bit careful.' She explains that the city relies heavily on tourism, mostly from the US. 'We do get some Irish visitors, though not too many – it is still a bit off the beaten track.' She travels back to Ireland once or twice a year with her 10-year-old son, spending a month in the countryside and with family. 'Arriving back, the altitude (Cusco is at nearly 4000m) hits hard for the first day or two. Climbing the endless steps here can make you breathless, but I love and appreciate my life here.'
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Irish Times
Finding home in the ancient Inca capital: ‘It can be chaotic, but that's part of the appeal as well'
Along the narrow, cobbled streets of San Blas, the artisanal quarter of Cusco, Peru , is an atelier called Hilo, home to a slow fashion brand founded by Irishwoman Eibhlin Cassidy in 2003 in the historical centre of this ancient Inca capital high up in the Andes. Cassidy, who is from Fermanagh, studied ceramics in the National College of Art and Design and, after her BA in fine craft design, lived in Madrid for more than two years before completing a postgrad ceramics degree in Edinburgh College of Art in 2001. 'It was while I was living there that I had a yearning to travel to Mexico and Peru, and within a month of finishing my degree I was on a flight to Mexico and working in the studio of Gustavo Perez (the celebrated Mexican ceramic artist),' she says. On holiday in Chiapas in the southernmost state of Mexico on Christmas Day 2002, she slipped on stairs in a hostel while carrying a heavy backpack. The accident left her with broken bones in her hand and ultimately ended her ceramics career. READ MORE 'The local hospital put on a cast, but a month later in Costa Rica, where I went to have the cast removed, the bones hadn't healed at all and the doctors said I needed to return home for surgery and get pins inserted.' Defying that advice, she made her way down to Peru by bus and boat, arriving in Cusco in February 2003, and was immediately captivated by the city and its bohemian spirit. 'I was really inspired by the culture, the life that was so vibrant and colourful, the festivals and costumes, and so I started experimenting with second-hand clothes, cutting them up and remaking them in a new way,' she says. It also marked a turning point in that she didn't return home for three years, eventually going back only for her sister's wedding. Within a few months of arriving in Cusco, she had opened a small store selling one-off pieces of clothing – colourful, playful and original – that became an instant success with both locals and tourists. Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store Hilo is now an established business known for what she calls 'elevated everyday wear with a twist'. Her collections for both men and women work exclusively with Peruvian-sourced fabrics – vibrant jumpsuits, skirts, trousers, dresses and shirts are patched, overdyed, pleated, embroidered and hand stitched. In recent years she has been using natural dyes with plants from the Sacred Valley of the Incas in the highlands, in an ongoing project with women from the Pumaqwasin co-operative community in Chinchero. 'I found it easy setting up a business, and what started out as playing with cloth developed quite naturally – my store was the only creative business on the street and it's now where Cusco and international creatives open up shop. It is full of little cafes and artisan boutiques,' Cassidy says. Her success also led to her designing costumes for blockbuster films including Transformers and Paddington. Cusco has a vibrant social life, she says. 'It's easy to meet people from all over the world and make friends. And locals are so open and friendly. Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store.' She lives around the corner from her shop in a four-bedroom house 'filled with wood and glass' that has a small garden. [ An Irishwoman in Portugal: 'Blue skies, bilingual children and a flight home in three hours' Opens in new window ] Rents in the area can range from US$300-1,000 a month, while a two-course meal in a local market costs about €2.50. Eating out in a restaurant ranges from €8-€28, while the local market is full of fresh local produce, and tropical fruit juices can be bought for around €1.20. 'A fun fact is that Peru is the birthplace of the potato, with over 4,000 varieties,' Cassidy says. The downside to living in Cusco? 'Bureaucracy can be tricky and dealing with paperwork and legal stuff can be super frustrating. It can be chaotic, but that's part of the appeal as well. 'Stomach issues are common, mostly due to local bacteria, so you must be a bit careful.' She explains that the city relies heavily on tourism, mostly from the US. 'We do get some Irish visitors, though not too many – it is still a bit off the beaten track.' She travels back to Ireland once or twice a year with her 10-year-old son, spending a month in the countryside and with family. 'Arriving back, the altitude (Cusco is at nearly 4000m) hits hard for the first day or two. Climbing the endless steps here can make you breathless, but I love and appreciate my life here.'
