Creating beautiful, high-quality accessories that elevate the everyday, Glitz N Pieces was originally a college project but has turned into a thriving business recognised across Ireland.
When Grace and Ellen founded Glitz N Pieces in 2013, they were just nineteen and studying Entrepreneurship and Business Management at IADT. What began as a college project quickly grew into something much more – a brand built on creativity, ambition and a shared love of style. From those early days crafting accessories between lectures, the duo have transformed Glitz N Pieces into a thriving business recognised across Ireland.
Over the past decade, Grace and Ellen have hosted pop-up shops in Ireland’s most prestigious department stores, including Arnotts and Brown Thomas, while also expanding their reach to customers around the world. Today, Glitz N Pieces has a loyal community, which is a testament to the founders’ dedication, the brand’s enduring appeal and its clear philosophy: to create beautiful, high-quality accessories that elevate the everyday.
What kind of items do you stock?
We stock timeless real leather handbags and accessories, along with high-grade stainless steel, gold and platinum-plated jewellery. We do offer a complimentary personalisation service on the majority of our products, which is carried out by hand in our offices in Rathfarnham. Each piece in our collection is classic and designed to be worn time and time again and incorporated into your current wardrobe.
Which items are your bestsellers?
The Kate Bag, which launched in October 2024, has been one of our best sellers to date, along with the rest of our handbag collection, on the back of the success of this bag, along with our bracelet collection.
What are some exciting new launches?
We will be crafting a range of handbags using suede, tassels and studs, which are key autumn/winter staples this season.
Was money a concern when the business was starting?
As we were nineteen, finance was not attainable for us, so we took a small amount of our savings that we both had and invested it into the business and continued to reinvest any revenue that was generated to grow the business.
The best business advice we’ve received
Get stuck in and keep your head down, and don’t focus on the noise.
Our favourite fashion/design accounts to follow
We both love the simplistic European fashion where the focus is on elevated basics and styling simple looks with accessories.
Best fashion purchase ever
Our Glitz N Pieces Kate mini bag in burgundy and taupe. We wear ours at any given opportunity.
Other Irish brands we love
We are loving Poco Beauty, The Belle Brush, Cocoa Brown and The Head Plan at the moment. We love seeing these Irish brands doing so well!
A brand we’ve recently discovered
The Cosy Girls Club. They supply products to support your self-care.
Most useful learning since setting up a business
You need to be passionate, resilient and strategic about your business as it is extremely challenging, especially in the current climate – these are the ingredients that will keep you going through the journey.
Proudest moment to date
We received an inaugural award at our college graduation for outstanding achievement. We were in business for four years at this stage, and the award was named The Olivia Burke Award in memory of Olivia Burke, who sadly passed away in the Berkley Tragedy in 2015. We have just launched The Olivia Bag in memory of Olivia, and we are thrilled as it holds such a special place in our hearts. We are so happy with the design of the bag, and so many people who have purchased it have messaged to say how happy they are with the quality and function of the bag, which makes us feel proud.
We want Glitz N Pieces to be remembered for…
High-quality accessories at affordable prices, and for being part of our community, which we value greatly. We are so grateful to have incredible women who support and inspire us daily.
If we could have anyone wear our designs, it would be…
Seeing our community taking the time to create and share content of them wearing or styling their purchases on social media is honestly the most rewarding feeling. It is truly far more meaningful than seeing a celebrity championing the accessories.
Photos: Photography by Kelan Molloy. Creative Direction by Lawson Mpame. Styling by Yara Abdelsalam. Hair by Hannagh Inglis. Make-up by Shauna Cooke. Models Tanya Holiday and Carolina Guimarães, Eko Model Management. With special thanks to Bold n Subtle and NEXT.
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