Who is Sarah? Meet the Artist Behind Shock of Grey.

Designer and founder of Shock of Grey, Sarah Carroll Kelly

Sarah Carroll Kelly is the founder of Shock of Grey. A bold, handmade, and unmistakably fun line of sustainable jewelry made in her Dublin 8 studio. With roots in fine art and a growing archive of sketchbooks and vintage finds, Sarah brings a sense of curiosity and wonder, and originality to each piece of jewelry she creates. We spoke with her about Dublin Independent Fashion Week, where she finds inspiration, and what to expect from her upcoming collections. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and your brand. 

My name is Sarah Carroll Kelly, and I am the founder and designer of Shock Of Grey. I make bold, handmade, sustainable jewelry from my studio in Dublin 8. It started full time in 2020, and people were on all their Zooms and needed lots of stuff for their ears. So that's when it kinda took off.

“Two Tones in Reds” from Sarah’s new Galaxy Collection

Where can we find your products? 

My products are available primarily on my website, so that's shockofgrey.com, and also in 52 stockists in Ireland, The UK, Canada, Germany. Where did I miss? New York. There is a full list of current stockists on my website.

Is there a new collection you are working on that everyone should know about? 

*Pointing to earrings* These are, a new piece that I've been working on. It was launched at Bloom, but I haven't expanded or shown the expanded version of it yet. I do have another one that I am working on, but that will launch in fashion week in September.

“Galaxy Fan in Hand Painted Black with Mint Spatters” from Sarah’s new Galaxy Collection

What Inspires your work?

My background is quite diverse. So, like, I did work in fine art. I do sketch, and I draw an awful lot.I Collect, everything from, like, vintage sewing patterns to architecture books, children's books I adore from the sixties and seventies, they are so beautiful. And I kinda re render those into my sketchbook, I probably fill one a month and I have them going back to the nineties. They're always a resource for me to work with.

Thoughts on Dublin Fashion Week? 

We have to nod back to people that did fashion weeks in Ireland and in Dublin, in the nineties, in the eighties, in the sixties, in the seventies. This isn't new. I am connected with Dublin Independent Fashion Week, so I can really only speak to that, but the application for that is open until the June, and it's the third year it's gonna run. I'm really excited about what community and group that will bring together and what it'll look like this year.

Watch Sarah’s interview here on our Instagram

View more of Sarah’s work here on her web sight