Jill & Gill on their colourful creations and future plans

Irish design duo Jill & Gill speak with Sínann Fetherston about the business of art, their community of creatives, and the launch of their latest collaboration with Three Ireland.

When we speak over Zoom, Gill Henderson is enjoying a holiday in the West of Ireland, while Jill Deering is basking in post-wedding bliss following her marriage to Jennifer Rock.

Despite this, the two are raring to go, delving into the significance of their latest collaboration and teasing the possibility of future projects.

According to Henderson, taking a break to look back on how far they've come just isn't their thing.

"We screen printed another creative's artwork onto t-shirts for Three Mobile in 2016, when they first launched their activation at Electric Picnic," she explains. "I remember us getting photographs of the MCs wearing the gold jackets and thinking they were so cool. Now, nearly 10 years on, we're in the position to completely re-imagine what that looks like for Three."

Created as part of Three's All For Music initiative, the 2024 designs represent a bit of a full circle moment for the two.

"It's that kind of moment... we don't give ourselves enough time to ask that question of ourselves, to look at how far we've come."

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With Henderson's experience in print making, and Deering's background in graphic design, the duo turned out to be a perfect match - in both business and in name.

Since 2016, their creations have been flying off shelves thanks to their distinctive use of colour and their punchy collections celebrating 'Boundless Radicals' like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Iris Apfel and Bosco.

Although they are an independent business, the two describe themselves as 'smooth co-operators' and have become a staple of the Irish art scene thanks to successful collaborations with homegrown brands like Tropical Popical, the National Gallery of Ireland, and Stork and Co.

"The beautiful thing about Ireland, whether it be the West of Ireland or in the city of Dublin, everyone does tend to rally behind and promote each other," muses Deering. "The culture is so vibrant and so alive at the moment.

"We're the nosiest of people," adds Henderson, laughing, "we all want to know what each other is doing. I think that's part of our personalities, we're very much... we're both Geminis, so we're constantly wanting to connect with so many different people. Which has been good for us!"

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Describing their younger selves as gloriously naive, the two admit that they never thought the brand would enjoy the success that it has. Partly because they had no idea how to run a business.

Despite earning their degrees (Deering studied Graphic Design while Henderson studied 3D Design Product & Furniture), the two insist that they felt totally unprepared for the business side of things.

"I think at one stage I found my sixth year Business book and was like, 'this is what we have to go on'," laughs Henderson.

Although there are a variety of support systems at hand for emerging artists, the designers insist that changing a creative mind into that of a strategist involves a steep learning curve.

"For us, I think, the tipping point was when we got the opportunity to step into Brown Thomas Create; we really had to knuckle down and start removing the emotion - for want of a better term - out of what we were doing, and look at it as a very practical and logistical operation," says Gill.

"Deadlines, timelines, sourcing, sustainability practices, ethics - all of those things. Once we started looking at it from that point of view, we could direct ourselves where we needed to go to find the right supports."

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Speaking with the founders, it's clear that running a financially successful and creatively satisfying business takes blood, sweat and tears. For this reason, the two say its essential that artists learn to value their work.

"It's very hard to put a price on time as a creative," says Deering. "That's the first big lesson you need to learn: you have to value your time. Then, you want to put down what it cost and packaging and all these logistics, but your time, your idea... your piece of art is unique which means your time is of the essence and needs to be catered for."

"It's a coveted piece, it's a luxury item," she continues. "That needs to be taught in the classroom, not when they're out in the world."

As for Jill & Gill, the co-owners say they are constantly learning what it takes to keep business booming. Earlier this year, the duo announced that they would be moving their focus from jumpers to fine art.

"We've taken a huge side step from where we were this time last year with the apparel," says Henderson. "For us, that's how other clients and other collaborative possibilities happen because people want to know what's happening and what you're doing next."

"All will be revealed," she teases, "don't worry."

While their lips remain sealed on future plans, they say their latest collaboration - creating an apparel collection for Three - has been a joy to work on.

"The initial brief was to create a streetwear-able uniform for the MCs," says Gill. "It was about us bringing that vibrancy, the colour pops, and the abstract shapes woven into whatever was going to be given to us as brand guidelines."

Of course, those distinctive traits make their pieces easy to spot, but seeing their prints hung in people's homes or worn on people's backs is something they haven't quite come to terms with.

"We haven't properly taken time to acknowledge all that," Deering admits. "Part of our 'go, go, go' mentality is to move to the next."

"Since we finished the apparel, it's become more apparent that people really bought into Jill & Gill apparel, so it was lovely to do this collaboration and still use those skills," Henderson agrees.

"It's exciting to see where else we could go or the hands it could end up in," she adds, mysteriously. "You never know what could come next."

Jill & Gill will be taking part in the Art Riddler exhibition at One Charlemont Square from 25 October - 3 November.