Our Head Jeweler

Gemma is our Head Jeweler and approximately 76% whirlwind. If you spend more than twenty minutes with Gemma, she will have said "I'm very excited about..." at least twice, and the object of her excitement could be anything from breakfast to a new range of jewellery that she's thrilled to introduce! She's also highly enthusiastic about soccer, so much so that she coaches a local girls' football team. There is also her relatively new Krav Maga training, which she has been learning for thirteen months, having already achieved an orange-black belt in the discipline. Gemma classifies the weather by whether or not it's a good day for eating chips in Howth, and always has an apple to accompany her drive home in the evening. Having been a part of the jewellery and watch trade for a quarter of a century this year, watches remain her long-time passion.

Our Founder

Ciarán, our Founder, has many strings to his bow: As well as being our fearless leader, he has also been the lead singer with Verona Riots, a voice actor, our very own Gaeilgeoir (Irish-speaker) and curator of spoken Irish for our social media accounts, cyclist, football player and enthusiast. Ciarán is a whole-hearted supporter of anything that will make MIJ better for our customers and a great example of ensuring life has time for both work and play. We’re also told he’s a massive fan of weddings!

Our Geologist

Jane, our resident researcher, is, among many other things, a geologist specialising in volcanology. Having spent many years trekking through the wilder parts of the world and camping on active volcanoes, she's now entered the (hopefully calmer!) world of MIJ full-time. If you see blog posts written about the gemstones used in our range, Jane wrote them. Many of the pictures of the Irish countryside dotted around our website are also hers - her love of the outdoors remains firmly intact, despite learning just how harsh it can be. Jane is married to Ciarán, and they have two daughters.

Our Photographer

Ruth, our Photographer, is Jane's little sister. Endlessly creative, you have probably seen her fantastic pumpkin carving skills, and let's not forget her iconic Halloween costumes! She's generally happiest when discussing The Muppets, movies, swimming, Doc Martens, mid-century modern design, happy-coloured nails, and her rescued greyhound, Brody.

Our Shipping Manager

Margaret is our Shipping Manager, occasional model, and style queen. On any given day of the week, Margaret gets more compliments on her outfits than all the other MIJ women combined, and her unfailing elegance deserves Every. Single. One! She’s a keen golfer and walker, and has been known to watch the rugby of a weekend. Unflappable in the face of the Christmas rush, when she has often shipped 150-200 of your parcels in a day, and unruffled during the Valentine's Day rushes, Margaret sends out thousands of impeccably wrapped gifts every year, all while keeping us entertained with her dry, quiet wit. She's also an absolute mind-reader when it comes to knowing when tea is the only possible answer! (Never let anyone tell you this is not a serious life skill.)

Our Web Developer

Danny, our Web Developer, is MIJ’s King of Puns and impromptu office sing-a-longs. A largely self-taught web dev, Danny started dancing at the age of eighteen - also self-taught initially! - and went on to spend a decade dancing professionally in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance show. He subsequently moved to Ireland and decided on a career change: Mr Flatley’s loss was absolutely our gain! English by birth, he's now fallen victim to saying, "It'll be grand!" like any other long-term Dub, and his tendency to engage in high kicks in the office can occasionally make walking around with hot tea a risky endeavour! As the person who often makes the admins' life so much easier, he's the one who keeps the site running and makes our days smoother.

Our Storyteller

Vicky, she of the blue hair, from Customer Service, has lived in Ireland since the age of seven, which is a very long time ago! She's been fascinated with jewellery and adornment since she was knee-high to a grasshopper; this hasn’t appeared to diminish with age, as an overflowing jewellery box and multiple tattoos can testify. A bookworm, wildlife obsessive, and mostly an introvert, she's a Brit by birth of mainly Welsh and English heritage. Vicky will trot cheerfully over hot coals to get to a cup of tea, a beverage that makes up at least 93% of the fluid running through her veins. She can read virtually anyone's writing, thanks to working with engineers for a third of her adult life, and has a degree in Theology from the University of Wales, Bangor. She is leaving the East coast at the end of April to move to County Cavan, where she will finally realise her lifelong dream of having her very own library.

Get In Touch

Have a question or something you're not entirely sure about when browsing our pieces? Please reach out. You can send us a note or give us a call—the Dublin workshop is here to make sure that you have a perfect experience from start to finish with My Irish Jeweler.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, to see what's new and upcoming. Join our Email list for early offers and special features.

Comments

Meg Usa

Fabulous intros! Thank you so very much for sharing about the lives of those who help make our world ‘sparkle’ !!

Vicky LowsleyMeg Usa

Hi Meg,

Thank you for visiting with us - we get to hear so many wonderful stories in the course of doing what we do that it seemed only fair to start sharing a little more from this side. It's nice for people to know who they're dealing with, after all, and it's the support we get from our customers and friends that really makes us shine. :D

Best wishes from Dublin!

T Hyde

You folks are an amazing family. Good article!! Life is good with jobs and family you love. I've had 2 opportunities to work with Vicki and she rocks🤗 Sorry you are leaving Vicki but the best of times with new adventure.

Vicky LowsleyT Hyde

Hi TJ,

Thank so much for dropping by - I hope all's good with you!

Ciarán and Jane have been kind enough to indulge my wanderlust, and so the plan is hybrid working. It's all very exciting and, yes, many new adventures ahead. :D

All the best,
V.

Ellie Sanborn

I just finish reading this newsletter and all of the introductions of your MIJ team. I read twice because I enjoyed it so much!! Your newsletter is always so interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing it with me. If I ever make it to Ireland (which is #1 on my bucket list, in fact, it's the only thing on my bucket list😂💚🇨🇮💚)
Slán
Ellie😊👋🏼

Vicky LowsleyEllie Sanborn

Hi Ellie,

Thank you for such kind words. It's absolutely our pleasure to share little bits of Ireland with our friends worldwide; although it's a tiny island, it always leaves a big impression! We hope you get to visit someday.

Best wishes from us all here in Dublin.

Francisco Santiago

Nice family. Puertorricans and Irish have a lot in common, family, entrepreneurs, and nature lovers people. I have two aunts and cousins married with Irish. We like to party and tell stories. Blessings!

Vicky LowsleyFrancisco Santiago

Hi Francisco,

Thank you for visiting us today. I bet you have some great parties, and as we all know, great parties lead to excellent stories! Best wishes to you and yours from sunny Dublin.