Meet The Maker: Sadhbh Smith of Memory Lane Frames

When did you set up your business and why?

Memory Lane Frames was set up in 2018. The brand was developed off the back of a personalised frame gifting idea for a friend and went from there.

It grew from the awareness of a gap in an already saturated market for gifts to offer unique and Irish gifting ideas to customers in the market at that time in the locality.

The business has developed and changed a lot over those years for the better and continues to grow from strength to strength.

Twenty years of business and retail experience was a great asset on the journey and still is today when it comes to product design, making and communication channels.

All items are handmade and designed in my studio in Meath with careful attention to detail with each and every piece.

Sustainability is a continuous wheel and every day small changes and processes all add up to bigger and better things and is at the forefront of everything we do.

The brand is mainly stocked in physical retail stores at the moment, catering for a wide variety of everyday customers looking for an occasion gift, as well as tourists wanting to take a piece of Ireland back home with them.

The main aim always is to deliver on good-quality, Irish and handmade bespoke products that are carefully designed and delivered and knowing that the end customer received great joy in owning a gift/product that is truly unique.

Can you explain your design process?

All products are made and designed in Ireland and also proud to guarantee 100% Irish stock and craft material.

The patterns for each frame come from carefully hand-traced and cut designs using re-used and upcycled paper, card materials, for example wallpaper sheets and cards.

My main inspiration is always taken from local landscapes, on-trend interiors and colours.

All work has incorporated hand written and variations of calligraphy fonts in the finished piece, with the ability to add a personalised message if purchased directly from me.

Handwritten messages comprise of sayings and words or Irish blessings and symbols, all the time connecting the brand back to the beautiful Irish heritage.

Many designs include carefully mixed watercolours and paper or mount dipping to create a once-off and highly unique design. The joy of marbling is that no two of my pieces are ever the same.

Marbling has become an endangered craft in recent years and here at Memory Lane Frames, we wish to breathe new life into the art of paper or cards and are proud to offer these as highly unique gifting options.

We like to think this process offers a fresh take on an old craft method and will continue to offer new methods to the ranges.

I also sell hand-dipped and varnished marbled mugs and bookmarks. Again, the bookmarks are made from off-cuts and upcycled materials and added to these are handwritten slogans and carefully attached gold foil techniques and some marbled paint work also.

What is your best seller?

Currently, it’s the new home, hand-cut designed frame incorporating the Irish heritage shamrocks and horse shoes for health and good luck and leaning to the Irish heritage again.

What is it about your business that brings you joy?

Receiving customer testimonials and listening to the stories of joy and emotion for various sad and happy occasions.

The satisfaction of arriving into a shop stocking Memory Lane Frames and seeing and hearing customers lift your work and talk about it never gets old and makes me smile always.

What are your hopes for 2022?

Continue to build a bigger success story for the brand and expand into more gift shops here in Ireland.

The dream is to keep the progress up and see my brand stocked in the larger Irish retailers. This would mean everything to me. No dream is too big, right?

What is the best advice you would give to another start-up?

Trust your gut - and run with it. The process takes time, lots of patience and more time and work. The hard work will reap the rewards.

If you get tired - and you will - remind yourself of why you began and it will keep you on path.

Allow yourself to feel those goosebumps and 'pinch-me' moments with absolute satisfaction when they come.

Go for it; the sky is the limit!

For more, find Memory Lane Frames by Sadhbh on Facebook or on Instagram @memorylane_frames.