Jewellery that tells your own story, not someone else's
In a city where commerce and culture have long intertwined, an Irish jewellery brand born during the uncertainty of 2020 has planted its most ambitious flag yet at one of Dublin's premier shopping destinations. Dylan Oaks, founded on the belief that adornment should feel personal rather than prescribed, opened its flagship store at Dundrum Town Centre this week — a moment that speaks to both the resilience of independent craft and the enduring human desire to wear something that means something. The celebration drew familiar faces from sport, television, and public life, lending the occasion the particular warmth of a community recognizing one of its own.
- A brand built during a pandemic has now staked its largest claim yet, opening a flagship that must justify the ambition behind it.
- Celebrity guests including Love Island's Grace Jackson, broadcaster Martin King, and former footballer Stephanie Roche turned the launch into a cultural moment, not merely a retail one.
- The store's charm bars, live engraving stations, and bespoke earring builders signal a direct challenge to the impersonal uniformity of mass-market jewellery.
- With three locations now spanning Dublin and Belfast, Dylan Oaks is quietly assembling the footprint of a national brand.
- The real test begins when the champagne is gone — whether personalization as a retail philosophy can sustain daily foot traffic in a competitive market.
Dylan Oaks, the Irish jewellery brand founded in 2020 by John McAnenly and Laura Sherry, opened its flagship store at Dundrum Town Centre this week, drawing a guest list that included Love Island's Grace Jackson, broadcaster Martin King and his wife Jenny, former footballer Stephanie Roche, and boxer Kaci Rock. Champagne and canapés from The Flying Duck set the tone for an opening designed to make an impression.
The store itself is the fullest expression yet of what Dylan Oaks is trying to be. A customisable charm bar invites customers to build their own bracelets and necklaces piece by piece, while a live engraving station can personalise items in fifteen minutes. A ring bar, a build-your-eardrobe station, and a curated gifting section complete an offering built around the idea that jewellery should feel created, not simply purchased.
The Dundrum location joins existing stores at Liffey Valley in Dublin and Castle Lane in Belfast, marking a meaningful expansion for a brand still only four years old. The celebrity-studded launch signals a deliberate strategy — positioning Dylan Oaks as a destination for style-conscious shoppers who want something more than off-the-shelf uniformity. Whether that vision translates into lasting loyalty will unfold in the quieter days ahead.
Dylan Oaks, an Irish jewellery brand that has spent the last four years building a reputation for customizable pieces, opened its flagship store at Dundrum Town Centre this week. The launch drew a crowd of recognizable faces from television, sport, and entertainment—the kind of event where champagne flows and the guest list matters as much as the merchandise.
Grace Jackson, who appeared on Love Island, made the trip to Dublin for the occasion. She was joined by broadcaster Martin King and his wife Jenny, former footballer Stephanie Roche, and boxer Kaci Rock. The guests were greeted with glasses of bubbly and canapés from The Flying Duck, the kind of opening-day hospitality designed to make an impression.
The brand itself was founded in 2020 by jewellers John McAnenly and Laura Sherry, who have positioned Dylan Oaks as something more than a traditional jewellery retailer. The new flagship store reflects that ambition. At its centre is a customisable charm bar where customers can build their own charm bracelets and necklaces, selecting pieces that tell their own stories. There's a live engraving station capable of personalizing items in fifteen minutes, a ring bar for those shopping for something more traditional, and what the brand calls a build-your-eardrobe station. A curated gifting section rounds out the offering—all designed to make the shopping experience feel less like browsing inventory and more like creating something personal.
This isn't Dylan Oaks' first location. The brand already operates stores at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin and on Castle Lane in Belfast. The Dundrum flagship, though, represents a significant step—a larger, more fully realized version of what the brand is trying to do. It's the kind of expansion that suggests the founders believe there's a market for jewellery that prioritizes customization and personal narrative over off-the-rack uniformity.
The guest list at the opening—a mix of television personalities, athletes, and social media figures—signals the brand's strategy to position itself as a destination for style-conscious shoppers. Whether that translates into sustained foot traffic and sales will depend on what happens after the champagne is cleared and the canapés are gone. For now, Dylan Oaks has made its statement: it's a brand that believes in making jewellery personal, and it's betting that Dublin's shoppers will agree.
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a jewellery store opening warrant this kind of celebrity attendance? What's the actual draw?
It's partly about visibility—when a brand invites recognizable faces, it signals that this isn't just another retail space. It's aspirational. But there's also something genuine here: the customization angle genuinely appeals to people who want their jewellery to mean something specific.
The charm bar and engraving station—are those actually novel, or is that standard jewellery retail now?
It's become more common, but not universal. What Dylan Oaks seems to be doing is making it central to the experience rather than peripheral. The fifteen-minute engraving is the hook—instant gratification for personalization.
Four years from founding to a flagship store in a major shopping centre. That's fast. What does that tell us?
Either the founders found a real gap in the market, or they're very good at marketing to the right demographic. Probably both. The fact that they're expanding to a third location suggests the first explanation has some weight.
Who's actually buying this jewellery? The guest list suggests younger, social-media-aware customers.
Almost certainly. The Love Island connection, the Instagram-friendly customization stations—it's all designed to appeal to people who see jewellery as part of their identity narrative, not just adornment.
Does the Dundrum location matter specifically, or could this have opened anywhere?
Dundrum matters. It's Dublin's premium shopping destination. Opening there signals that Dylan Oaks sees itself as a premium brand, not budget jewellery. It's a statement about where they want to sit in the market.