CREATIVE DIRECTION, RETAIL OPERATIONS, BUYING, MARKETING, MEDIA STRATEGY, LAUNCH
‘From The Isle’ was the 2016/17 marketing campaign at Kildare Village, one of nine Villages as part of the Value Retail Group. The campaign encompassed education, fashion, food and culture and was focused on bringing Irish design, talent and identity to the fore.
The fashion cornerstone of From The Isle was Só Collective – a home for Irish fashion, design, craft, food and culture at Kildare Village. Só Collective takes its name from the Gaelic word ‘Só’, meaning ‘treat or luxury’. Só Collective launched in Spring 2016 and stocked over 80 Irish designers from across Ireland and beyond, both seasoned designers and the raw talent of emerging makers. Só Collective aimed to communicate a contemporary vision of Ireland in all its facets, not only through its merchandise but through its execution, voice and identity.
Baluba brought our unique aesthetic and ambition to bear on ‘From the Isle’, from creative direction to marketing strategy and retail operations, driving the project from conception to execution and working closely with Kildare Village to develop the store concept and retail model. We project managed the interior design, brand identity, fit-out, retail operations, budget and buying functions for the store.
Baluba was also responsible for the programming and curation of the Só Collective cultural space and From the Isle cultural programme at Kildare Village to encourage a wider discourse on Irish design talent, and we guided marketing, PR and digital strategy and activation, from store launch concept, project and event management, monthly in-store talks, demonstrations and events until the end of our lease in February 2018.
In 2017 we also launched ‘The Christmas Collective’ pop up shop at Kildare Village featuring seasonal designs by exclusively Irish designers and makers, and ‘The British Collective’ at Bicester Village in the UK – a concept gifting store with young British designer Luke Edward Hall featuring gifted emerging British designers.
