Wrapped in Kindness, a truly unique Irish gift shop, was founded in November 2021 by me, Julie Gaffney, at my kitchen counter in Passage East, Co. Waterford.
I sell Irish gifts online such as jewellery, homewares, stationery, beauty & books and 10% of each sale goes to an Irish charity of the customers choice.
I have always loved Irish design products and truly love shopping local for jewellery, notebooks, mugs, scarves, books, candles and lots more lovely things, so curating this collection of products has been an absolute joy to me. There is an abundance of talented designers and makers in Ireland to choose from.
My background is in accountancy. However, I have always felt that I wanted to do something that gives me a sense of purpose and that also can really makes a difference to people.
With Wrapped in Kindness, I feel like I have found it – my mission now is to bring more beauty, joy and above all kindness into people’s lives.
So how did I come up with the concept? Well, I was looking for a Christmas present for my son’s teacher and I didn’t want to just grab the usual mug/plant/chocolates from the supermarket. (Hands up if you’re guilty of this too!)
So during my effort to shop more consciously, I spotted a limited edition Irish design print in a wonderful Irish business called Dusty Boy Designs, where a % of the sales from this print went to Pieta House . I bought it and felt so great, knowing it was both a beautifully designed Irish gift and was also supporting a fantastic Irish charity.
It inspired me to create a gift shop, where people can go for all their gifting needs, that has the same unique concept of kindness at it’s core. It’s made all the more special by the customer being able to choose which charity partner to support.
It took me 3 years to make it happen due to lack of time (three kids, house renovation and moving the family from Dublin to Waterford) but it was also a lack of self-belief. On the days when I felt full of self-doubt, I used to read this quote and it really helped me to keep going
“NO ACT OF KINDNESS, NO MATTER HOW SMALL, IS EVER WASTED” – AESOP
So I’m delighted the website is now up and running and we now stock over 35 suppliers of really gorgeous Irish made gifts. We also have our 11 amazing Irish charity partners on board.
I’m so excited for the future of Wrapped in Kindness – an Irish gift shop that supports both small Irish businesses and fantastic Irish Charities, and where you can find something beautiful for yourself or a loved one.
Please do have a browse through our beautiful collection of Irish gifts for all the family HERE
Help us spread the word by telling all your friends and family about our Irish gift shop with it’s unique charity concept and hopefully together we can make a difference to these deserving charities.
Love,
Julie Gaffney
Director & Founder Wrapped in Kindness
