Picture a poster of staycation delights
HOW about some good news? While all around, small businesses are struggling, several are not just surviving but flourishing in Covid times.
One unlikely success story is a Kilkenny company selling vintagestyle posters of Ireland which has seen its sales increase by a massive 125% in 2020 already.
If people can’t go to their favourite spots in West Cork, Connemara or even a neighbourhood of Dublin, then Irelandposters.ie will bring that place to you.
They also have a series of iconic Irish pub prints which have been hugely popular while the real things remain closed.
The husband-and-wife team who run the company agree that lockdown, followed by record numbers of staycationers, all helped drive demand for their product. In one week alone, their sales were up over 400% on the same week last year.
The fact that the posters are beautifully drawn and instantly evocative helps too. In the past six months, they’ve shipped to the US,
Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Qatar, among others.
Una Herilhy, whose husband Roger O’Reilly is the creative talent behind Irelandposters.ie, says the company is all about connecting people ‘back to lovely, warm memories’.
She said: ‘You know, if you used to go on holiday to Dingle or wherever it may be and your brother or sister is living away and you want to remind them of that.
‘So you send them a poster and they have a little part of that.
‘All the staycationers in Ireland helped too. It only took a global pandemic to make people realise what a beautiful country we live in!
‘We’ve had people coming back from those holidays and wanting memories of it.’
Una, who looks after business development and marketing, says the fact that most of their business was already online was a huge help. Roger now has a book deal with a UK company for an illustrated volume of British lighthouses similar to ones he did of Irish lighthouses.
‘That’s the next focus for us, to attract a bigger customer base outside of Ireland.’
To win a poster for both you and a loved one, turn to our competition on Page 36.
‘It’s about connecting people to memories’