In December 2015 I decided to sell my house in the UK, leave my 10 year career as a sales manager of a leading Fine Art Publishing company and start life again in Kinsale in my 40’s (love also played a hand in my decision, moving over with Cork born artist, Philip Gray).  

The key objective for my boutique was to create a warm, welcoming space with lovely scents and relaxing music to greet you as you walkthrough the door. Customer service forms a large part of Kinari Boutique’s ethos, including a professional bra fitting service which is absolutely key to the whole experience of getting your purchase right. 

Kinari Boutique offers a wide range of lingerie, hosiery for men and women, shape wear, swimwear, womenswear, maternity bras and accessories from highly respected brands across the globe, some of which are exclusive to Kinsale. Within just 18 months of opening, Kinari was honoured to win Best Concept Shops Award by the Underlines Magazine within UK and Ireland which was a huge achievement, as we were up against some long established boutiques in top London High Street locations, within this category.

Retail has definitely changed since I opened my doors 5 years ago. The Covid crisis has created its own unforeseen challenges in the last 12 months but it has had some positive effects. Since the pandemic consumer behaviour has changed, this was very apparent in December 2020 where we saw that there was a movement towards supporting local businesses. We saw that shoppers wanted to support local towns and communities after such a challenging year.

From this shift people have discovered many other benefits of shopping with independent retailers. These boutiques are able to offer a personal service which, in this time of separation, I think people have really come to value. The engagement you get in independent retailers where you’re often speaking to the shop owner can’t be replicated at big brand high street shops. Shoppers also seem to feel safer shopping in smaller retail premises than the large department stores out of town shopping centres.  

During the first lockdown in March 2020 I had the time to build and create a website enabling me to boost my online presence. This has certainly helped my clients to purchase from my website and I’ve noticed that a lot of the customers who were just visiting Kinsale in the summer (when restrictions were lifted and we were permitted to open) are returning to the shop the boutique online because of the personal experience / customer service they already had and because they trust the quality of the products that I am able to offer. 

I feel this is the key to surviving as a small business in the future, offering the highest quality products at the best prices, coupled with exceptional customer service. There is a move towards purchasing less, investing in quality sustainable items that will last rather than mass produced products that ultimately end up in our landfills. 

For Kinari Boutique, quality and service are at the forefront of what we have to offer, but we only survive with the support of our amazing clients. For all your continued support I am extremely grateful, so a huge heartfelt thank you goes out to you all!