Today for Haller, we visited the Irish Design Center! This is the beginning of our crash course on both the history and culture of Ireland, and I can’t be more excited about it. Though I can’t say I wasn’t stressed during the program. Last night I binge-ate a LOT of food because I couldn’t stop thinking about the midterm for our Managing Complex Environments course. Nevertheless, our stop afterwards was the Irish Design Center, owned and operated by Tom Petrone and Maura Krushinski.

We talked a lot with Tom today, especially about the various quirks of Ireland. Though he’s actually Italian, he operates an Irish store, and honestly leads people to believe he’s actually from Ireland with how knowledgeable he is! He quite literally had something to say for almost every single item, and knew what and where they were from. For example, the Marino Wooled scarves that were imported directly from Ireland, or a phony company that marked their goods as “Made in Ireland,” when it was really made in China. The sentimentality that each item carries in his stores is definitely what draws people. That is what makes Tom’s store so unique. Every scarf, every piece of fabric, every ring; they all carry certain meanings and traditions that Ireland holds.

Currently, the largest challenges that retail operations such as Tom’s experience are expenses, specifically when trying to import from Ireland. Each item he buys is taxed at an outrageous 100% rate, and most of his items are handmade, resulting in a retail economy where costs must be passed on to the customer. Yet, despite everything, Tom’s levity and character bring a certain charm to the store that isn’t present in large retail stores. I believe that his outlook on business is not solely for profit, but for the community, and Ireland is what makes his store so appealing to people.