By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Seán Treacy, founder and owner, Hunter Treacy Tailors
Seán Treacy is the owner of Hunter Treacy Tailors, a newcomer in the made-to-measure suit market. Treacy aims to bring quality, affordable custom-made European-style suits and clothing to Ireland. From his studio on Pembroke Street Upper, Dublin 2, he focuses on sustainable, natural fabrics and ethical manufacturing using modern technology.
What was your first job?
When I left university, I started working in Fund Administration, which I quickly learned wasn’t for me. I then moved to a Sales & Marketing role with the Irish Stock Exchange, which was much more rewarding.
What pushed you to pursue a career in this field?
I always knew I wanted to work for myself, but I didn’t know what that might look like. Growing up, I always had an entrepreneurial streak, and from working in sales in the Financial Services industry in London, quickly learned that first impressions are incredibly important and thus developed an interest in tailoring. When I got married in 2018, I wanted to get a made-to-measure suit, as I’m not the right shape for off-the-rack tailoring. Unfortunately, the company I paid in Dublin to make my suit never delivered it, and two weeks before the wedding, I had to go and get an off-the-rack suit, which was not an experience I’d wish on anyone – not having a suit two weeks before your wedding! That experience was the push I needed to start Hunter Treacy Tailors, and to start offering more affordable made-to-measure tailoring options for men and women in Ireland.
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
Waking up everyday and being in control of what I do with my own time is probably my greatest achievement. That, and when our Clonakilty store, Hunter & Bloom, won Best Menswear Shop in 2023, which was a nice accolade to receive.
Career wise, would you do anything differently?
Every decision I’ve made and every mistake along the way has led me to where I am now, so probably not.
In one sentence, how would you define success?
Success to me is being in control of my own life, being comfortable at my station, and being comfortable in who I am.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
You can please some of the people all of the time; all of the people some of the time; but you’ll never please all of the people, all of the time.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
Trying to think bigger, mood boards as to where we want to go with the business and generally trying to find inspiration to drive us on to better processes, better customer experiences and better quality is really what motivates us. We’ve covered such a large part of the made-to-measure market in such a small space of time, that really drives me on to grow bigger and faster.
How do you handle adversity?
Take a breath, think slowly and understand the problem. Remove the emotion from the situation or decision, look at any issue from a black and white perspective, and try to move forward whilst learning from any mistakes.
How do you relax?
Sea swimming, running, going to the gym, getting massages, going out for dinner, taking breaks away, and clay target shooting. Anything to get my mind off business and think about what really matters in life.
What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
We really are just at the beginning of Hunter Treacy. My medium term aspirations would be to have stores in Dublin, Cork and Galway; but to really develop a cutting edge online tailoring experience where customers globally can get perfectly-fitted suits. Longer-term aspirations are to bring all of our manufacturing here to Ireland, which is definitely attainable – just need to find €1m or so investment first.
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