Copyright evoke
As a youngster, I was very familiar with the iconic Guaranteed Irish logo that was attached to products made in the country. I’m not sure why, but it resonated with me, and little did I know that, many years later, the notion of buying Irish and shopping local as to become a subject very close to my heart. It probably had and has something to do with being proud of where I’m from, but it also had something to do with the positive effect that shopping close to home can have for everyone who has ever had the wherewithal to set up a business from scratch and keep it on the road while running a premises, paying staff and trying to expand all the time. A few years ago, on Instagram, I was struck by the number of Irish people selling their wares on a daily basis. From homemade sweaters to works of art and beyond, I realised that there is a whole world of people working really hard to make it in a business that is often small and always important to the woman and man themselves. I was also struck by how difficult it is to get the word out there in a world that demands a lot of money for an ad on the radio, TV or websites so lots of these local businesses depend on word of mouth to make people aware of what they are selling. I decided to offer a space for any of the people who follow me on Instagram by inviting anyone with a small Irish business to posttheir product, tag me, and then I’d repost all of them so that, for 24 hours, my 290,000 followers could essentially window-shop and save the posts they liked with a view to placing orders nice and early ahead of any potential Christmas rush. Thankfully, it was a huge success as hundreds of businesses from around the country got in touch and reported massive increases in sales but also more people following their sites. I hadn’t done it for a few years but this week I decided to do it again. I wasn’t sure what kind of response I’d get as it’s hard to know what sort of demand is out there but as soon as I posted the call out, I got an answer that was loud and clear. Once again, hundreds of brilliant businesses from across the island got in touch with products and services that were innovative, imaginative and very clever. From tombstone QR codes (where the deceased’s details come up when requested) to outfits for pets and plenty of talented artists, this was a smorgasbord of industry, much of which was being created in kitchens around the country. I was greatly heartened by the response from people who said they appreciated the shout-out, as it was so hard for them to get theword out on mainstream media, given how small their businesses (and budgets) are. The results were immediate as I was inundated with comments about how some of the businesses ran out of product, lots received heaps of new followers, and plenty of buyers got in touch to say that they had bought new books, jewellery and art as a result of the call out. All told, it was a wonderful result with everyone winning in what was a great news story, and as I promised during the week, I’lldo it again in a few weeks, just in time for the Christmas madness.
