Caroline Cullen
Innovator
The Roots of Ireland
Ireland
Economic
Rural Areas
Rural area close to city
The innovation journey
Caroline Cullen has united her skills from a background in music, yoga and special needs and a career in the corporate sector with her love of nature to develop The Roots of Ireland. She always had a yearning to set up a business, alongside her husband, that was conducive to family life and their love of outdoors. The Roots of Ireland is a contemporary handcrafted nature-themed sterling silver jewellery business in Leixlip, County Kildare.
Inspired by their surroundings the Jewellery is designed on elements of Irish nature. To create the designs, twigs or leaves and other organic matter are taken and covered with up to 13 layers of silver paste before being placed in a kiln, which burns away the original organic matter – leaving a silver representation of the original piece.
The innovation impact
Each piece is passed through Dublin Castle to be stamped with an Irish Hallmark certifying its authenticity and quality. In addition to its own online store, the collections are available in other Irish retailers, for example, Blarney Woollen Mills and Bunratty Woollen Mills. It also has an export market and has relationships with retailers in the United States. Caroline was identified as one Irelands Women Entrepreneurs to watch in 2023.
The vision is to create beautiful gifts and at the same time help to preserve the Irish woodlands. To actively contribute to this, for each piece from ‘The Woodlands Collection’ there is a donation made to the Irish Native Woodland Trust who are dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Ireland’s ancient woodlands.