Alumni stories - Aisling McGloughlin
"For me, NCAD is the only college in Ireland to graduate from if you want to work in the creative industries"
Name: Aisling McGloughlin
Current Career (Field): Founder - Aisling McGloughlin Designs
Graduation Year: 2016
Discipline: Jewellery & Objects
Location: Barcelona, Spain
What career path did you want to follow as a child?
As a child I was very attracted to creativity. Apparently, I was painting before I could speak! I liked making tinfoil models of everything I saw around me. I think I’ve always wanted to be “an artist”. Of course it’s not until you're an adult that you realize how general that is and how that title encompasses hundreds of different jobs.
Why did you decide to study at National College of Art & Design?
For me, NCAD is the only college in Ireland to graduate from if you want to work in the creative industries. Most people at home recognize there are few better alternatives.
During my final year of secondary school, I worked day in and day out on my NCAD portfolio application. Getting into NCAD was all I ever wanted. I'm the kind of person that when I want something I really dedicate myself to getting it. I did an additional 20 hours every week to develop my portfolio before applying to NCAD. This was on top of all my leaving certificate work! Probably one of the scariest moments of my life was waiting for the NCAD acceptance letter. But all my hard work paid off. I was offered a place!
At NCAD I met like-minded people. Quickly, I found I was no longer the big fish or the stand out artist as I had been in my school. I was now surrounded by very talented and creative people. It was inspiring.
I learned a lot about narrowing down the field I wanted to pursue during the first year, where you get to try out various creative disciplines. I went from exploring Sculpture to Product Design. Then I got talking to a student at one of the infamous NCAD balls. Actually, I accidently walked into the wrong bathroom! I got chatting to Eric Kelly who was a Metalwork student. I told him how I loved making things but also how much I enjoyed the challenge of making something beautiful, well, and accurately. I told Eric I was thinking of studying Fine Art Sculpture. He suggested that if I wanted to make pieces with a high level of skill and precision then Metalwork (now Jewellery & Objects) might be where I should specialise. I gave metalwork a try and immediately fell in love with the challenge of making small things but making them flawlessly.
How did you develop your career towards your current job or practice?
I want my jewellery to be durable, to withstand the knocks and bumps of everyday life. I also want to explore colour. It can be challenging to achieve colour it in metal. You will find very few luxury durable materials that are colourful.
When guest lecturer Dr Coilin O Dubhghaill came to NCAD to speak about his metalwork research in Japan he introduced the class to an ancient Japanese technique called Urushi Lacquer. Urushi is a technique over 9000 years old. Many Urushi artefacts are found fully intact and still shiny thousands of years after they were made. I was instantly gripped by the technique. I even considered doing a 3 year internship in Japan to learn as much as I could about it. However, I finally got to study and practice Urushi at Escola Massana in Barcelona, Spain. I studied there for two and half years.
Urushi became the foundation for my jewellery business - Aisling McGloughlin Designs. Creating colourful and extremely durable pieces of jewellery is now the unique selling point and focus of my business. My work and career had finally all fallen into place.
What is the one experience during your time at NCAD that has informed you most in your career and work to date?
Opportunity knocks when you least expect. That chance meeting with a Metalwork student Eric Kelly and the guest speaker Coilin O Dubhghaill both had a profound influence on where I am now. Eric nudged me in the direction he thought might better suit my interests. Coilin gave me an introduction to an ancient Asian metalworking technique that inspired me and is now the basis for my jewellery business.
By the way, Eric Kelly is now Head Engineer at the Department of Product Design at Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway. Dr Coilin O Dubhghaill is now the NCAD Jewellery and Objects course coordinator.
If you were chatting with current NCAD students today what is the one piece of advice you would offer?
Be aware, there is so much we are not taught at NCAD about starting a business. Business development strategies, business systems, and finance are all things I had to learn. More recently, the emerging significance of social media marketing for business growth and survival is another skill set to learn. It would be difficult to fit all of these components into one course.
My advice would be to work really hard. Building a creative business is incredibly hard. Building your own business takes far more of your time than if you worked in someone else’s. Running your own business is not a 9 to 5 job. Accept that there will be sacrifices you will have to make along the way. There will be many times when you can’t socialize. Times when you can’t go on that much needed holiday.
However, I feel the rewards are significant. There is freedom and flexibility in owning and running my jewellery business. It is empowering to create good jewellery for my customers. It is humbling when they love what I have created for them. I would say to any graduate, yes it’s very hard work but it’s definitely worth it.
What new opportunities have developed for you as a result of changes in work practice during the Covid pandemic?
Jewellery design is a very competitive market. Now, people are buying much more online than ever before. Having an online presence is now crucial for my business to thrive. In reality, the pandemic forced many jewellery businesses to move primarily to online sales channels. This provides some businesses with a greater level of power and control. Certainly, I find I am not reliant on trade shows, markets, or bricks and mortar shops to sell my work anymore. This appears to be a definite advantage for me, although it is also a steep learning curve too.
The pandemic forced many jewellery businesses to rethink their products. I would say, in business you really have to be able to pivot and adapt. I studied successful competitors and looked at their online channels, which helped me find the right online sales channels for my jewellery business. Having full control of my online sales is amazing.
