Ian Flaherty designs and manufactures men’s bespoke cufflinks
in workshop ready
to be distributed nationally and internationally.
Visit Ian at his studio and you’ll find him working at the
coal face with his subordinates, unafraid to get his hands dirty. A Scouser by
birth and the son of a builder he chose a different career path that lead him
out of working class Liverpool and into London, the fashion capitol of the
world.
After designing for many prestigious brand names Ian thought
it was time to harness his energies and direct them toward developing his own
brand. It’s been a long road from Liverpool, now his
delightful cufflinks are displayed in some of the most famous department stores
around the world, including Selfridges and John Lewis (UK), Nordstroms (USA)
David Jones (Australia)
plus stores in Japan
with un-pronounceable names.
The cufflink market has become crowded as designer brands
cash in on the growing popularity of men’s jewellery. Plus there is the lure of
manufacturing in Asia as a way to increase profits, but
not without risk of negative effect on your reputation. Increasing profits at
your customer’s expense does not make good long term business sense. Ian’s a
big fan of traditional British craftsmanship and prefers the workmanship he
gets from his own Battersea studio.Ian literally draws his design inspiration from the world
around him. He’s always looking at patterns and reflections, sketching things
that catch his eye as he walks down the street. His designs have been copied,
often blatantly by many big names.
Ian’s designs are hand cast in pure English pewter, because
it gives the most accurate result. Each item is double plated in rhodium, a
precious metal derived from platinum, and polished before being hand-enamelled
or inset with Swarovski Crystals. Then polished and inspected again to make
sure it’s flawless. Rhodium prevents tarnishing and adds functionality to form
making them extremely hard wearing, less likely to be scarred thus adding
value. His cufflinks don’t tarnish and neither will his reputation. His customers
keep coming back for more precisely because he does not cut corners.
He continues his work happily labelled “the quiet achiever”,
carving out a name for himself in the fashion capitol of the world. The only
thing that overshadows Ian’s immense talent is his sincerity; his working class
principles remain intact.
Having a pair of his in your collection is a must; you’ll
reveal their unique story each time you bind your links to cuff.
A closing historic anecdote: Swank Inc a popular designer
and manufacturer of men’s cufflinks were incorporated on April 17, 1936. When Cufflinks peaked in the
1960’s they were making 12 million a year. Even though these were aimed at the
lowest end of the market, retailing for an average of $2.50 a pair, that still
adds up to a lot of men wearing cufflinks. These days the figure is closer to
200,000, but cufflinks are making a strong comeback with gross sales having
increased consistently over the last ten years, while the French cuff continues
to be the most prestigious type of shirt.The most expensive cufflinks ever sold were a pair given to
the soon-to-be King Edward VIII by his later wife Wallis Simpson. These featured diamonds set
in platinum and sold at auction for $440,000. The most a pair of Flaherty
cufflinks will cost you is £67.00.
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