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DESIGN HEN’S GREETS Hen’s Teeth recently launched
their their new gallery, art and lifestyle store in Blackpitts. They tell us about their evolution and transition. words Richard Seabrooke photos Shantanu Starick – How would you describe Hen’s Teeth and what you all do? We are now a very multi-winged bird with a gallery, store, diner and creative agency all operating out of one space in Dublin 8. At the core, everything we do is rooted in creating interesting experiences in art, music, design and food, whether that’s from our space or collaborating with artists or brands around the world. – Explain your collective journey to the point of opening up in Blackpitts? How did you get here? It’s been a constant evolution with a lot of figuring out along the way. There was never a five or ten year plan, we had all served our time in jobs we didn’t love, so we set out to build a creative business in which we could do the things we loved. There have been some clear milestones along the way that have led to this point. The first was all leaving full-time employment and taking that risk. The second was winning Smirnoff as a client very early on and running the Move the Needle campaign – that proved to us that there was a space for our cultural understanding and expertise in big brand work. The third was getting our Fade Street building and very quickly opening a gallery/store space when we had never run a bricks and mortar. The search for this building made us really evaluate what we had become in the two years since we moved to Fade Street. Ultimately, we knew that we had become more than a store on a busy street and that we wanted to build a cultural destination with community at the heart of it. – This step up is big and ambitious, which is to be applauded and commended. What words of advice and strength would you give people thinking of pushing themselves further ahead? Thanks. Try to stop and enjoy the good moments because they go by quickly when they happen. Be honest and open and mind the people that you work with. Be kind, you’ll need people’s help along the way. – Your three favourite collaborations and projects so far? What made them so special? – 60x60 with a certain Mr. Richard Seabrooke was a huge moment for us when we look back on our journey so far. Working with 60 contemporary Irish artists and throwing a huge exhibition at the RDS really helped put us on the map. – The new space in Dublin 8. We worked with AB Projects and what we’ve achieved together is a space that allows us total freedom, and one that we feel is genuinely world class. AB Projects were a dream collaborator. It’s probably our biggest and most important project to date. – Egle Zvirblyte is a Lithuanian artist we’ve worked with on a range of projects – we created a series of larger than life figures with her for Drop Everything 2018 that got a massive amount of international attention. Next year, we’re releasing our first limited edition ceramic with her too. – The three projects on your horizon you’re most excited about (without giving away any secrets of course)? – We’re working with Other Voices to run After Dark in Dingle for the third time in December. This year, we’re doing it with Algorithm, Red Bull and a very special top secret DJ. It’s a stellar squad and it’s always a killer party. – We first met the DJ Honey Dijon when we ran 16