Blarney Woollen Mills is more than a destination — it’s a living legacy woven into the cultural fabric of Ireland. Established in 1823 as a working woollen mill, the site once echoed with the hum of spinning wheels and the quiet craft of generations. When the team approached JK Consulting, the brief was clear yet ambitious: enhance Blarney Woollen Mills to become a world-class retail experience that elevates the shopping journey through innovation, comfort, and quality — all while preserving the deep soul of Irish heritage. At the heart of this vision was a desire to lead visitors on an immersive journey through the art of wool, expressed through experience, storytelling, and product.
JK Consulting collaborated with designers to develop a retail experience that brings the journey of wool — from raw fibre to finished garment — to life. The concept centers on immersing guests in the story of wool through five key pillars:
Each pillar is brought to life through vibrant, tactile displays, interactive storytelling, and a curated sense of place. Visitors engage with the craft behind every product, discovering the authenticity and artistry that define the Blarney Aran Experience. Personalisation plays a key role — guests can create and take home their own Aran knitwear, offering a lasting connection to both the brand and the Irish tradition. The result is a seamless blend of past and present: a retail destination where every detail tells a story, and every visit leaves a legacy.
The Blarney Aran Experience, unveiled in January 2025, has quickly become a standout success — captivating visitors and driving impressive growth through its new personalised product lines. In response to this momentum, Phase 2 is now in development, designed to expand the experience further and deepen the connection between craft, culture, and customer.
Each pillar is brought to life through vibrant, tactile displays, interactive storytelling, and a curated sense of place. Visitors engage with the craft behind every product, discovering the authenticity and artistry that define the Blarney experience. Personalisation plays a key role — guests can create and take home their own Aran knitwear, offering a lasting connection to both the brand and the Irish tradition. The result is a seamless blend of past and present: a retail destination where every detail tells a story, and every visit leaves a legacy
The Blarney Aran Experience, unveiled in January 2025, has quickly become a standout success — captivating visitors and driving impressive growth through its new personalised product lines. In response to this momentum, Phase 2 is now in development, designed to expand the experience further and deepen the connection between craft, culture, and customer.
Working with JK Consulting was the single best decision we have ever made in terms of our retail. Jennifer’s knowledge of the sector, guidance through a refurb process and her project management skills were excellent. We worked with Jennifer across all aspects of our retail offering from fixtures and fittings in our new space to staff training, pricing and product ranges. Without her expertise we would have been lost. She made the entire experience enjoyable and rewarding and our retail is now outperforming what we had planned. It has become a key revenue driver for our business.
Jennifer is one of the most creative and instinctive thinkers I’ve ever met. Working on the Guinness X Pawpear collaboration together was a masterclass in strategic vision and insight. She has an intuitive knowledge of the retail landscape and brought ideas that elevated the project in ways I hadn’t anticipated. A rare and truly valuable partner.
“We have been growing the visitor numbers to the cathedral in recent years and knew that the shop offered an opportunity to generate an incremental spend. From our first meeting with Jennifer Kennedy we recognized that she had the professional skill-set and experience to steer us. Jennifer is hands on, enthusiastic, demanding and energizing. She has transformed our retail space, how we think about it and the profits from the shop. We value her partnership greatly and recommend her without reservation for retail and merchandising in tourist attractions”
I and our onsite property teams have had the pleasure of working with Jennifer for the past year, and I can confidently say she has made a huge difference to the retail experience in all our sites. Her deep industry knowledge, strategic awareness, and ability to identify and introduce new products have consistently driven results. These results speak for themselves, increased revenue, improved average spend and fast selling stock items. Jennifer’s guidance is always thoughtful, her energy and passion for retail supports a great mentoring style which has empowered the teams in each property. Any team would be lucky to have her retail guidance to hand.
© 2026 JK Consulting. All rights reserved.
Designed and developed by Rooftop Twenty Two