Some businesses are built on a product. The Irish Jewelry Company was built on a feeling: the pull of Irish heritage that families carry across generations and oceans. This year it turns 20.
How It Started
Founder Jennifer Derrig trained at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has been designing jewelry since 1994. She launched The Irish Jewelry Company in April 2006 and, for eleven years, also ran a brick-and-mortar Irish gift shop where customers came in to talk about grandparents, emigration stories and the pieces that reminded them of home.
When COVID closed that shop, the business carried on online, still family-owned in the USA and still built around the same conversations. Over the years it has earned a BBB A rating, with a file open since 2008, and recognition including Businessperson of the Year from the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce and a Top 10 Finalist spot in StartupNation’s Leading Moms in Business.
The 20th Anniversary
The company is marking the milestone by inviting customers past and present to share their stories. The full announcement is here: The Irish Jewelry Company Marks 20 Years of Family-Owned Irish Jewelry.
What Twenty Years of Reviews Taught a Small Business
Twenty years also means twenty years of feedback, good and hard. The company published an open look at it, covering what customers praise most and the complaints, like late shipments and a slow exchange, that pushed it to change how it works. If you want to know what buying from a small heritage business is really like, read The Irish Jewelry Company reviews in customers’ own words.
The Piece That Started So Many Conversations
In the shop and online, the Claddagh has always been the piece that opens the door to family stories. Explore Claddagh rings at The Irish Jewelry Company. In-stock pieces ship in one business day.
