The Edge is a really cool and funky vintage shop in Limerick City and I had the pleasure of interviewing Fionán who owns the store!

I have added below the Q & A I did with him so you can get an insight into Fionán, his store- ‘The Edge’ and vintage shopping in general! If you would like to discover more about The Edge after reading go and follow @theedgelimerick on Instagram and The Edge Clothing on Facebook. Their website is coming soon!

Tatiana: “To start, tell me a little about yourself.”

Fionán: “Hi, my name is Fionán Coughlan, I’m 24 and I’m from Limerick. I got a degree in International Business & French from the University of Limerick.”

Tatiana: “Tell me about your work.”

Fionán: “I have had many different jobs growing up, my first job was selling flowers at The Milk Market in Limerick on Saturday mornings. Now I work for my father in the family business. My father has been selling Vintage clothes since 1983, now days vintage has become very popular.”

Tatiana: “How did your passion for vintage come to you?”

Fionán: “I became passionate about vintage clothes after I started playing music. I played bass in a band with some friends and my father would give us clothes from his shop to wear at gigs. The vintage clothes suited the style of music we played. Now I have become even more passionate about vintage as it is more sustainable than fast fashion as I have learned about the environmental and social damage that textile manufacturing can cause.”

Tatiana: “Let’s go back to your job and more specifically to your shop. Where can we find it?

Fionán: “Our shop is located in Limerick City Centre, at the Milk Market. This is a great location because the Milk Market is a very old and beautiful place. The best time to visit the Milk Market are Saturday mornings, when the place is full with traders from all around.”

Tatiana: “What are the average prices of items that can be found in your shop?”

Fionán: “The average price of items is €25.”

Tatiana: “Describe it to me, what do you sell?”

Fionán: “We sell a wide range of vintage clothes from the 60’s through to the 90’s and we also stock some new ethnic styles of clothes. Most of our vintage comes from the US and our ethnic clothes comes from India and Nepal.”

Tatiana: “And how do you find all these pieces? You have to spend whole days looking for new pieces to offer your customers!”

Fionán: “My father is still in charge of buying, but in the future I hope to discover new sources in other countries.”

Tatiana: “What is your favorite part of your job?”

Fionán: “Meeting people and finding items that they will love to wear.”

Tatiana: “Do you ever feel a little sad about giving up certain pieces during your sales?”

Fionán: “Sometimes we get rare items of vintage, but because they are collectors’ items it is hard to find people who appreciate them for what they are. We are thinking of putting some of the rare pieces online in the future to make sure they find a good home.”

Tatiana: “What are your favorite pieces that you currently have on sale?”

Fionán: “I really like the wool lined corduroy jackets that look good on both men and women, also I like seeing women wearing styled oversized tweed blazers.”

Tatiana: “And what is the most beautiful item you have put on sale?”

Fionán: “We get beautiful items all of the time, the fun side of vintage is that we never know what we might get and it’s up to the customer to find the extra special pieces for themselves. We sold a very nice 1980’s duster jacket last week and it fit perfectly on the customer.”

Tatiana: “Do you have any advice for anyone looking for vintage clothing or accessories?”

Fionán: “Vintage doesn’t find you, you find vintage. You need to enjoy the process of shopping as it may take an hour to go through all of the clothes to find a piece you like and that fits as every item comes in varying styles and sizes. It’s like treasure hunting.”