First look inside Irish jeweller Chupi’s new luxury store
The newly refurbished space is situated on Clarendon Street and was formerly home to British retailer French Connection
Irish jeweller Chupi Sweetman has seen her biggest expansion yet with the opening of a new flagship store on Dublin’s Clarendon Street, situated in the former French Connection unit in the 250 year old heritage building Powerscourt Townhouse, located just off Grafton Street. The new store opens to the public today, 18 October, at 10am.
For many the space will be synonymous with British high street brand French Connection (also known as FCUK) which took the unit, comprising of 1,250 sq ft at street level and a further 4,750 sq ft on the first floor, in 1999. The store had previously been occupied by The Design Centre.
With that in mind, Chupi and the fit out team were keen to create an entirely different feel to the store (the first floor won’t be opening till Q1), remodelling with the CEO and brands trademark blush pink and gold colour schemes. With celebration rings a key part of the business, more intimate spaces have been crafted, tailoring a more bespoke experience for those looking to find an engagement piece, or divorce ring too.
In conjunction with the store’s opening, Chupi has launched a new collection entitled the Next Decade aimed at marking significant moments in the wearers life, and as a way of creating a more modern heirloom.
Most, if not all, of the operational business will move to the new store, with plenty of room for expansion on the first floor, which also faces out onto the interior of the Powerscourt Townhouse. The business, which was founded 10 years ago, has been an early adopter in the sustainable jewellery space with every piece made within 100km of their HQ and using 100 per cent recycled solid gold. All of their lab-grown diamonds are fully traceable and carbon-neutral while 80 per cent of their classic diamonds are recycled. The packaging used to ship products is recyclable their our mailers are 100 per cent compostable.
The launch of the store is an added boost to the luxury market in the Grafton Street area with luxury watch retailer Paul Sheeran’s suite of watch stores on Chatham Row and two new units from fine jewellery and watch retailers Weir & Sons due to open on Wicklow Street.
Speaking about both the Chupi flagship store opening and the Next Decade launch, CEO and founder, Chupi Sweetman said. “The Next Decade of Chupi has arrived. I am delighted to be bringing the best of global retail theatre to Dublin. Like Powerscourt Townhouse, the Next Decade collection is a timeless collection of lifelong treasures full of pieces that resonate with my story and what I hope the next decade will bring. We carry our stories with us, encapsulated in the precious pieces that we have chosen to celebrate our journey.”
