Chupi talks taking on a male-dominated industry and why Cork is the next big step

After a series of trunk shows in Cork, where crowd numbers were ‘bedlam’, Chupi is opening a pop up in Brown Thomas. Mary Cate Smith meets the jewellery designer taking on the world

Chupi is ready to take on the world and where’s her first stop? Cork, of course. Picture: Nina Val

Of all the things Chupi Sweetman-Durney has; money, influence, and talent, the one thing that lingers with me after spending time in her presence is her “soft power”. 

It’s an ineffable quality, characterised by a gentle optimism that ironically has drawn her toward the hardest naturally occurring substance found on earth, the diamond.