Related Stories

• Closing date approaches for Cork Innovates Bursary
  
  
• President tastes the delights Ballyhoura has to offer
  
  
• Roche’s Londis Doneraile win national Q Mark title
  
  
• Feargal Quinn appeals for support for his initiative to give a lifeline to struggling businesses
  
  
• At the Northside for Business Conference – Connections That Matter
  
  
• The Beacon Initiative, Grow Programme officially launches in Cork!
  
  
• Batavia make a house a home for customers
  
  
• Charleville company Response Engineering clinches €550,000 deal with Energia
  
  
• Diplomas awarded as Dairygold forge future leaders
  
  
• Tough economy impacting on SME bosses in Munster
  
  
• Busy time ahead for Fermoy retailers
  
  
• Call for paper bag levy by Friends of the Irish Environment
  
  

Ger Hennessy of Ger Hennessy Hat and Fascinator Sales and Hire, Kilworth with her vast collection of hats and fascinators above her salon in the village. Photo: Sandra Quinn

When Mary Reidy from Mitchelstown decided to take a step back from her hat and fascinator sales and hire business, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Kilworth hairdresser Ger Hennessy to add another string to her bow and take on something different.

Since she took over in July 2012, Ger transformed the upper level of the salon into a haven of hats, fascinators and handbags of every colour and style.

The business is going strong more than a year on, but Ger said that it wouldn't be possible without Mary's guiding hand, advice and support throughout.

For a special occasion, women will spend a lot of time looking for the perfect head piece to compliment or set off an outfit, but sometimes they find themselves in a dilemma as they want the perfect piece, but perhaps don't want to spend a lot of money on something they will only wear once. In other cases, they are perfectly happy to buy something, if it can be teamed with a number of outfits.

This is where Ger's business provides the ideal solution, as people can hire the pieces for as little as €25 with a matching bag for €10 and if they are going to use the item a number of times, they can buy head pieces for anywhere between €45 and €90 and the bags from €20 upwards.

"If someone has an outfit and they are picking out an unusual colour, they might only wear it once and renting would be perfect, but if they are bringing in a strong staple colour, they might get a lot of wear out of it and it would work out better value to buy it," Ger said.

She added that she can modify pieces, using sprays if it is neutral coloured to change the colour or bringing in different feathers or sinemay (mesh style material) and these can be changed or adapted for other outfits as time goes on as well.

Looking around the room at the vast array of pieces, in various styles, colours and sizes, it is clear that people need to visit Ger's showroom to see what is available, as she has more than 500 pieces in stock and with a private dressing room, people can try pieces on with their outfit.

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

As the salon runs downstairs, people can visit by appointment only, so as to ensure that they are getting a full and complete consultation that is undisturbed.

Since she took on the business, Ger has done a lot of fashion shows, where she showcases her pieces and these are a great way to get her name out there, but she said that thankfully a lot of Mary's customers support her and she would also have people coming into the salon who would come upstairs to see what she has to offer. However, she added that there are still a lot of people who do not know that she has a fascinator and hat hire and sales business.

It is also very important to keep up to date with current trends and styles and she observed that a lot of friends and relatives would wear head pieces, as well as immediate family and while younger people might go for something quite showy and elaborate, grandmothers tend to go for neat little fascinators.

"A lot of dresses are quite plain and classical now, so you would need a head piece to dress it up," Ger said.

She added that while many will wear a fascinator or head piece for weddings, hats are all in for ladies days at the races.

"A lot of the pieces I have would be very classic and timeless in style and we have some of Kate Midleton's pieces as well and these disc styles are popular with people of any age," Ger said.

Ger also stressed the importance of bringing an outfit in, as it is very hard to match a piece, if she can't see the exact shade of a colour. She also advised people to bring someone with them, if they feel that they would like another opinion.

"I'm very happy with how it's going and it compliments the business downstairs with the salon and I love the mix between upstairs and downstairs, as I get to meet different people, talk to them about their event and then when they bring the piece back or come back for something else, I will chat to them about how it all went," Ger said.

"You kind of feel like you've played a part in their big day, which is lovely," Ger added.

Ger Hennessy, Main Street, Kilworth. Tel 025-27609, Tuesday to Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm and Saturday 9am - 4.30pm.

blog comments powered by Disqus