1 mins
HIGHLIGHTING LGBTQ+ CREATIVES
Luis Noguera Benitez and Ciaran Gildea of PShirts, and founders of the Quirk Market.
Pshirts is a vintage sustainable fashion online shop, that has been slowly growing, while at the same time, expanding the variety of products offered.
We are passionate collectors of pre-loved items of clothing that have a history behind them. It started with us being complimented for what we were wearing, so we decided to create a brand that represents us. We value the uniqueness and individuality of our products and love seeing people give them a new life and make them fashionable again.
We started with the idea of oversized, unisex, and unique shirts, adding ski and bomber jackets, to recently including jumpers and knitwear.
Our biggest dream would be to have a physical store, not only to sell our products but also to be a platform for new designers and creators around the city. We would love to collaborate with different artists to present a collection of hand-painted, re-worked clothing. We dabbled in this idea with Kiki Na Art, and the results were unbelievably great.
The LGBTQ+ community keeps growing in Ireland, opening spaces for people to feel safe expressing their identities publicly. The Quirk Market aims to be one of these places where artists of all kinds and creators of all types, would have the opportunity to engage with their audiences and sell their products, sell their art, exchange ideas, debate, and share love.
When pandemic hit Ireland, along with the health sector, the commercial area was severely impacted due to the challenges they’ve faced. Hundreds of small businesses had to cease their activities for good, leaving a gap in the market for those who like to buy from the creator’s hands. This is why Quirk represents an opportunity for uplifting, stabilisation, and branding for them.
Overall we feel that we are contributing to LGBTQ+ community growth, making it visible for the respect that we all deserve.