A new Wild Wardrobe

Second shop at Cavan Conaty Centre.

You should really take the scenic route when calling to Wild Wardrobe’s second shop at Cavan Conaty Centre.

The avenue to the new store boasts cows munching on green grass, trees, bees, butterflies and more; harnessing what the second-hand shop is about – wildlife.

After taking a left at Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre, a mural depicting wild animals - a large deer, a fox, an owl, a swan, a heron, hedgehog and badger - nestled in a moss-covered woodland greets you.

Vanessa Etherton, volunteered to paint the mural, and her great love of nature gained from growing up in Idaho shone through.

“It’s very rural, I spent a lot of time camping and outdoors,” she said of her childhood home. “When I moved to Cavan I kept that passion with me,” adding that Ireland has “so much to offer in terms of wildlife”.

“The natural ecology here is some of the most beautiful in the world,” she praised, which is why she wanted to support Wild Wardrobe’s mission of protecting Ireland’s wildlife.

The mural took three months to create.

“Figuring out what animals we were going to do took just as long as painting,” she said, adding that she spent one month on the painting itself, going and coming between showers of rain.

“It was a great opportunity for me,” she said.

“I’m really happy with it,” she said of the finished result.

Fellow wildlife enthusiast and owners of the Wild Wardrobe store Caroline Van Den Berg and Joanna Birsanu are smitten by the addition to the store. Caroline often sits admiring it while enjoying a coffee on her breaks.

Having started by selling clothes online from their home during the pandemic to now having opened two stores, Caroline said the key ingredient has been “a lot of hard work”.

“We had a vision and we both put our minds to it,” she said.

Their store located at St Clare’s Court in Cavan Town celebrated its first anniversary in March.

“With the bigger store we’re really pleased that we have a homeware section,” said Caroline, explaining that they have bed linen, curtains, home décor, a larger menswear section and an occasion wear section.

“We also have everything that we have in the other shop which includes children's, ladies, footwear and toys accessories.”

Addressing those who may not like wearing second-hand clothing, Caroline urged people to “give it a try".

“Come in and have a look, our items are all really nicely displayed and sorted in size so there’s not a whole lot of digging and rooting.

“You can really see at one glance your size section and what is available,” the former flight attendant said.

“It is really a treasure trove,” she said of Wild Wardrobe.

“It’s obviously great for our environment and sustainability; that’s what we're all about.”

All proceeds of the stores go towards Kildare Wildlife Rescue, Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland and Dooletter Wildlife Rescue, who take animals that come into the care of Johanna and Caroline.

At this time of year, callouts include tending to baby birds that fall from their nest, road accidents, foxes caught in fences, hedgehogs stuck in a drain or in a cattle grid.

“They’re the typical emergencies that we deal with,” Johanna said, adding that she would receive around 10-20 calls per week.

“I feel like we’re responsible for their [wild animals’] decline in many ways.

“I think we owe them, to give a second chance if we can.”

The two girls extended “a big thank you” to everybody who has supported them on their journey to date.

“Everyone has really got behind us,” Caroline said.