At the corner of Shop Street and Cross Street, where buskers, tourists, and people-watchers buzz in a steady hum, an unmarked doorway stands unnoticed – no sign, no number, no hint that just upstairs a small fashion studio quietly works to stitch Galway back into its bohemian spirit, one government funding award at a time.
The creative oasis of LivVintage Studio reveals itself only by a small St. Brigid’s Cross above an otherwise nondescript doorway, leading up a weathered yellow hallway. But inside, the space feels lived-in, loved, and used. Exactly how owner Olivia LaVelle imagined when she sought out a creative space that would meet a genuine yet practical need for creatives in the city.
Velvet couches form a circle around antique wooden desks and warmly lit lamps, giving the studio the inviting air of a sitting room.
A variety of sewing machines, vintage coats, shoes, photography gear, and material scatter the surfaces of the room. A lighting kit still stands from a recent workshop with SAUTI-Youth, an initiative that increases youth participation in climate action around Galway, for an all-day styling and marketing camp. Participants learned how to shop and style second-hand clothing, then step into the role of creative director for a professional-grade photoshoot. They left not just with hands-on industry experience and new pieces to add to their wardrobe, but with the option of a letter of recommendation from LaVelle herself, should they choose to pursue work in the world of fashion or marketing.
“We live in a global world. So, if our shoots are Hollywood level, maybe somebody in Hollywood might buy them. But the fun of doing a Hollywood level shoot, and the healing that happens, and the skills that are learned are just where it’s at for me,” LaVelle said.
The story that brought Olivia to Galway city and with it, her mission to revive the city’s once-famous bohemian spirit, is a wild one. A half-completed drive through South America, navigating the challenges of single motherhood, pitching an AI software company, and becoming a psychology professional – all with the simple goal of providing something for everyone. Now, she works on a fashion hub where people feel the welcome and support she once longed for as a young person, and a place designed to nurture transferable skills, spark creativity, and ignite entrepreneurial ambition.
“When I went to secondary school, I realised for the first time that I was creative. I come from a farming background. My mother’s a dressmaker, more hard workers than creative, I would say. So ‘creative’ is not welcomed.”
Getting into fashion school in Limerick was soon met with a realisation that luck had to be on her side to make it big in the industry, and if it wasn’t she was “at best” going to be a “seamstress for somebody who did get that strike of luck”. She left the programme and set off for South America, trading one classroom for another to teach English in the Favelas of Brazil. When she eventually returned to Ireland, with a young son in tow, she re-entered education, this time pursuing psychology and languages.
“I graduated my masters to a recession, so we knew graduating there would not be jobs. You know, my son at the time became unwell. The three things together: lone parenting, housing crisis, and your kid having extra health needs was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“A woman once said to me, ‘I failed as a mother,’ and it freed me from a prison I was in. Six months before my son turned 18, I decided the last act of mothering on this case, the case being my kid who’s a young man of today’s world, was that I would pull myself into a place that I deserve to be in.”
“So I leased this studio… the last of Bohemian Galway. My plan was to spend two years building a community and then launching an export level brand. The brand is very simple. What’s not simple is building the community.”
When she started out, she thrifted a huge amount of clothes hoping the sales of those pre-loved items would keep the rent paid and the lights on. But selling second-hand clothes was far more difficult than she thought – even as she ventured into more curated items for other demographics.
“I did one big market, and nobody wanted to buy anything. I realised that there is no money in selling preloved clothes.”
That left LaVelle reflecting on the sustainability of the textiles that seemed stagnantly waiting in her closet, and, more broadly, on the gaps in the circular economy she had hoped to support. As she took a closer look at the inconsistencies within small community economies like the one she was trying to build in Galway, LaVelle began to argue that government intervention is essential to addressing these systemic issues.
“The politicians need to hear this. The government has a responsibility to deal with textile waste, the over consumption and fast fashion. But how do we deal with that? And how do we build circular economy?”
For LaVelle, the answer lies in shifting priorities: greater government support for businesses that invest in sustainable, circular practices. She hopes that increased funding for Galway’s creative sector will follow, funding she will be eager to apply for as fuel for the community initiatives she has coming down the pipeline.
LivVintage studio just received €8,000 in funding for a project submitted under the Communicating Europe Initiative (CEI) where she will use fashion and marketing to draw a connection of the EU’s presence in everyday life.
“The project I proposed to the European Union, is that outfits are our way of expressing ourselves, and that often those that wear big outfits have an unusual opinion, they’re on the periphery.”
In collaboration with Stray Cats Press, a local zine club hosted in Massimo’s, LivVintage will run a series of four workshops where participants will make their own mini magazine. Street interviews and photography will also be conducted asking fashionistas what they want to communicate with their sense of fashion and what they would say to Europe if it was listening.
Once the content is gathered, the goal is for a formal magazine to be published.
“It’s just so validating. Everyone may not understand what I’m doing, but Europe does.”
The CEI funding LivVintage received acts as the first piece of external funding for the studio. Recalling the tight months to keep the lights on and dwindling savings to keep this dream alive, Olivia pushes for creatives to be fully supported with a living wage, a recognition of just how vital the arts community is to Galway’s cultural fabric.
“I honestly believe that these fashion designers that are making their own brand, crafters that are making craft, all the people you’re going to find at your markets, they should be supported with a living wage, or grants, just like the farmers because their industry is needed.”
“But the money you make doesn’t support you to live right. That’s why I’ve spotted a gap here and I’m trying to put a twist on it in my own way now. I would love to see Galway be renown again as the Bohemian capital of Ireland and be renown with the best flea markets, but this takes development on the governmental level and I’m ambitious enough to be going for that funding. And I’m looking for collaborators who want to work with me.” She added.
In the beginning of our interview, LaVelle joked about an alter ego that she said gets a bad rap. She introduced herself as a ‘Karen’ adding that this other persona is largely responsible for her drive and intensity, and that’s a positive thing.
The joke carried weight: a wry nod to the unique challenges of being a woman in leadership and business within an Irish context.
“I think it’s a time of discovery of who Irish women are in business. And there’s some amazing women around town that I just looked towards. I feel like they’re women who ask me certain questions at certain times, say certain things at certain times. They’re intimidating women, but they’re all brilliant at what they do and brilliant at being women leaders.”
“So I come in here and I say ‘Hi, my name is Olivia, but you can call me Karen.’ meaning I’ll probably say something. I’ll probably get cancelled. I’m fighting for a lot here that maybe you don’t understand. I’ve come through a lot that maybe you don’t understand but bear with me.”
“Forty something years being just a girl, you know?”
She wants to turn the ‘Karen’ stereotype on its head to cut through much of the surface level that stands in the way of true community and collaboration. It’s also where her mothering instinct comes through, in the way she works with both young people and fellow creatives: making sure they are truly seen, heard, and supported in doing what they love. The studio, the fashion, the skills, the projects are all just the means for LivVintage to achieve that ultimate goal: belonging.
“It is really, really time to change Karen to like Karina. Karina is Karen 2.0. She comes with all the wrath of a Karen, all the respect, but she enjoys it. I swear just that good vibe will have her doing what’s right for the community.”
“Karen is not a bystander. Yes, she gets it wrong sometimes. Yes, she needs to check her privilege. But she’s not a bystander, and we need to applaud that person for that.”
Olivia gets excited when she thinks about all that is to come, as if she and her studio are on the brink of seeing the fruits of her labour and witnessing the local community come together in exciting, new ways. The remainder of this year is action packed for the studio between the CEI project taking place before Christmas, the studios participation in Dublin Independent Fashion Week, expanding the workshop side of the studio to include sewing machines, and launching her own personal line of clothing.
At the end of the day, it’s really about leaving a legacy of community, love, and support for like-minded people, especially for those who haven’t always had a motherly presence or their own biggest cheerleaders.
“This is my last act of motherly love… I’m excited for Galway. I’m excited for the studio to build. I’m excited for this way of looking at solving our creative solutions for the world we live in in a community sense, I’m looking forward to getting more funding and expanding.”
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