BACK PAGE:IDENTIFYING a niche in the market can sometimes provide the impetus for a new business initiative. For Tralee-born Daragh Murphy, a desire to breathe new life into an old idea – in this case the ubiquitous T-shirt – has sent him on a new career path, developing what is today a thriving clothing company in Co Cork, writes SUSAN CALNAN
A self-professed T-shirt addict, Murphy decided to design his own range of T-shirts after growing tired of the more generic Irish-themed T-shirts donning shamrocks, leprechauns and pints of Guinness.
The central selling point of the company – uniquely named the Hairy Baby Clothing Company after Murphy’s allegedly notorious head of hair as a baby – is its use of slogans, which Murphy describes as “modern humour with an Irish twist”.
Murphy’s foray into the clothing industry is a somewhat new departure from his former career as an audio-visual technician and DJ.
After a brief stint as a store manager in Penneys, he left his home town of Tralee in the 1990s to relocate to London, making a name for himself in the late-night club circuit as a DJ and supplementing his income with bar work and other part-time jobs.
After six years in London, he returned to Ireland, enrolling in a course in sound engineering at the Pulse Recording College in Dublin. He subsequently took up a position with an audio-visual company, working on sound and visuals for large conferences and external broadcasts.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the work, and loved the buzz and the responsibility of being involved in these big conferences and outside broadcasts,” says Murphy.
“We’d often get to meet well-known celebrities, and one of my claims to fame is that I got to attach a lapel mike to Bill Clinton’s jacket when he came to Dublin to speak at an event.
“I wouldn’t say that sound engineering is a very glamorous industry – you’re always the guy behind the screen who nobody sees but who keeps it all together, and then there are the late nights and early mornings – but it was great fun and I got a lot out of it.’’
While designing T-shirts is a long way from Murphy’s previous life, he attributes his new career path to his former occupation.
“When working as a DJ and audio-visual technician, I’d always wear T-shirts and would buy a new T-shirt every week,’’ explains Murphy.
“I was always on the lookout for T-shirts with clever designs or humorous slogans, but a lot of what was out there was quite generic or offensive.
“I’d assumed that someone would eventually catch onto the idea of designing more bespoke T-shirts, but when they didn’t, the idea continued to grow in the back of my mind.’’
A change of direction eventually gave Murphy the impetus to give his business idea a go when he decided to relocate to Cork with his then girlfriend and now wife, Deirdre, after she was offered a new job in her home city.
Murphy continued to work as a DJ in the Cork club circuit, as well as doing some audio-visual work, but finally felt the time was right to develop his business idea.
“It started with me sketching up some drawings on my computer and bringing the designs to a screen printer. After I distributed my T-shirts to a few shops in Cork, they sold out in a few weeks, and it was then that I thought there might be something in this.’’
Murphy began to research the industry over the course of a year, learning everything there is to know about fabrics, printing methods and T-shirt design. He was also keen to develop the ethical side of the business and started to explore the possibility of using organic cotton, eventually developing contacts with suppliers in Turkey, India and China.
Murphy also decided to sell his products solely online, realising that the mark-up involved in selling to shops would be too big for him to sustain a good living.
A number of years later, and using all of this own money to get the enterprise up and running, Murphy’s Hairy Baby Clothing Company has developed into a business employing six people and reaching a healthy turnover of almost €500,000 last year.
The company has also expanded its product range to include hoodies, aprons, maternity wear and organic shopping bags.
“The company has essentially gone from being a fun sideline to a serious business with staff and overheads,’’ he says.
Murphy attributes much of the success to the fact that he is providing a quality but also novel product, which draws inspiration from Irish people’s unique turn of phrase.
“The main ethos behind the business is to encapsulate the things that Irish people say and do in a funny slogan – giving Irish humour a more modern twist.”
For example, Murphy attributes one of his best-selling T-shirts – “the Irish Federation of Lovely Hurlers” – to a conversation he overheard one day in a post office, where the postman kept referring to his prized team as “lovely hurlers”.
“We really have a unique way of talking in Ireland and some of the phrases we use are very funny,” Murphy says. “The T-shirts give people a chance to wear their Irishness across their chests and to celebrate our unique sense of humour.’’
Despite the humorous ethos of the business, Murphy highlights that running his own company is a serious matter.
“I now work longer and harder than I ever did before. Plus the responsibilities of being your own boss are enormous, especially when you start taking on staff,’’ he highlights.
“I can’t stress enough how much hard work is involved in setting up a business, so if you’re afraid of responsibility I certainly wouldn’t recommend it.”
“But if you have an idea or discover a niche in the market, then it really is worth investigating it. Thorough research is crucial but the outcome can be surprising – and there’s great satisfaction in watching your idea come to fruition and develop – as long as you’re not afraid of hard work, that is.’’
