Let me tell you why I ended up on a tour around the George Horn . a few weeks ago. I met co-owner Gerard at the launch of Helen McAlinden’s autumn/winter collection. More on that later! I had taught Gerard about thirty years ago. He had been living in New Zealand, but returned to Dublin to work at the family firm that still carries his grandfather’s name.
George Horn Background
George Horn established his glove making business – the last of its kind in Ireland now – in 1943. At its peak, it employed more than 100 people making gloves for everyday wear and also for special occasions. At one time, his gloves were stocked by fashionable brands and department stores such as Harrods, Christian Dior and top department stores in New York.
When George died in 1981, his son, Brian, who had started his four-year apprenticeship at the age of 15, took over the business. And he still works today aged 79.
Their original workshop burned down in 1972 (strangely on Brian’s wedding day!) and since they couldn’t replace the specialist Singer sewing machines needed for fine leather work (as Singer stopped making them), they made heavy-duty industrial gloves instead.
But the aim was to return to fine glove making and they scoured Europe for the specialist machines needed. When a British glove company closed, their prayers were answered. Forty years later, George Horn Ltd. was back in business, creating men’s and women’s gloves from a selection of skins.
George Horn Today
Now the company has five employees working on gloves and Brian cuts all the leather after hand-stretching each piece, using his own designs and those passed down by his father.
All of the gloves are hand-finished. I learned that this embroidery on the back is called ‘pointing’.
Most sales are placed online, largely from the USA, with a hand-measuring guide on the website helping customers to decide what size to order. Gloves can also be bought at the Dublin Leather Store at the front of the factory in North Brunswick Street. They also hold leather making classes there.
Tradition
Glove-making is a passion for Brian and unique drawings of a designer who worked with his father, recently found their way into his hands. He would love to make some of these in the future.
Future
But it’s not all about tradition. Gerard is currently working on an expanded colour palette in Italian leathers dyed in quirky shades and the company is introducing new lines designed by freelance designer Siobhán Curtis, a BA in Fine Arts graduate from the National College of Art and Design.
And a collaboration with fashion designer Helen MacAlinden has expanded their horizons. They now make leather skirts and jackets for her latest collection.
This is possible because they have expanded their workforce with the addition of Ukrainian designer Larissa Ivannakova who moved to Ireland after war broke out. Larissa also continues to make her own designs for individual customers; see the coat below.
Where to buy George Horn
Most of these fabulous gloves are exported. The US is a huge customer and many clients buy online from the company, but they can also be found in various stores such as Celtic Crossroads in Washington.
In Ireland, you can pop into shops such as Kennedy & McSharry, Joyce’s of Recess or Dick Mack’s in Killarney. And of course you can find his work at Helen McAlinden also. I find the prices extremely reasonable considering the quality and the skills needed to make these beautiful gloves. And it is difficult to imagine that they are made in a tiny factory in Dublin.
Traditional craft married with modern technology is the way forward for Ireland’s master glove makers ‘George Horn Gloves’.
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Thank you for reading. It was fun to interview Brian, Gerard and Larissa and to see them at work.
Hilda x
