.jpg)
A jewelry workshop that started in the basement of a Dublin store grew into one of the city's leading creative experiences, expanding its international reach while helping thousands of travelers craft a lasting reminder of their trip.
What began as a way to make better use of an empty jewelry store after hours has grown into one of Ireland’s largest experiences of its kind. Founded in 2018, Silver Works now welcomes 20,000 to 30,000 guests each year and hosts silversmithing workshops across two city-center studios. Every visitor leaves with a piece of silver jewelry they've made themselves, a precious reminder of their time in Ireland.
Growth brought a different challenge: filling two studios without losing the warmth of the original basement workshops. Silver Works now has around 30 staff and can host up to 60 people at once, yet each session still centers on patient teaching and Irish storytelling.
"Opening our second studio and joining GetYourGuide happened at roughly the same time. It was a happy marriage: we had the space to grow, and GetYourGuide helped us reach a much broader audience," Manager Jill O’Malley explains. "Some evenings we'll have two people booked for the next morning. Then I come in, and there are 12. Bookings can come in overnight."
Today, 35-40% of bookings come through GetYourGuide. That volume has prompted the team to improve the mechanics behind the experience, from simplifying bookings across two locations to opening availability earlier and adapting workshops for visitors seeking more Irish history and cultural context.
We spoke to Jill about turning customer insights into practical changes, why teachers remain at the heart of the experience, and what it takes to keep a hands-on workshop personal as the business grows.
What makes Silver Works different?
Silver Works is a jewelry school based in Dublin city center. We offer two-hour jewelry-making workshops where locals and tourists create their own unique silver jewelry.
Our mission is simple: to make people happy and help them enjoy their time in Dublin. It's a busy city, so it's lovely for people to spend a couple of hours, whatever the weather, creating something they'll keep forever.
It's always the teachers that customers love most. People constantly mention how welcoming, patient, and friendly they are. Visitors leave having made something themselves, but they also leave with stories about Ireland, recommendations for Dublin, and a genuinely memorable experience.
We're also still unique in Dublin. There are similar workshops elsewhere in Ireland, but they're much smaller. We've been able to grow because we have two buildings, a large team, and the space to host up to 60 people at once.
What were the biggest challenges in the early days?
Finding customers was definitely the biggest challenge. People simply didn't know we existed. When we first started, the workshops were literally on wallpaper-pasting tables in the basement of the shop. We didn't even really have a booking system; people would just turn up.
We sold through our website and eventually started using a few OTAs, but discovering where to sell and how to reach travelers was the hardest part.
In the first year, we'd probably welcome only a couple of hundred guests. Then it slowly grew into a few thousand. When we got the bigger building, we finally had the space to expand, and over the past three years, since we started selling through the likes of GetYourGuide, our revenue has definitely gone up because we're reaching a much broader market.
Today, we welcome somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 guests a year.
.jpg)
How has partnering with GetYourGuide helped your business grow?
We partnered with GetYourGuide because we wanted to reach more people. We'd already built a strong audience from the United States through other channels, but GetYourGuide introduced us to a completely different customer base across Europe.
Today, 35-40% of our bookings come through GetYourGuide, and that share has continued to grow over the past year as more international travelers discover us. It's opened up a whole new market for us.
We've been thrilled not just with the booking volume, but with the countries we're now reaching. We're seeing lots more Nordic travelers, people we simply weren't attracting before, as well as many more visitors from across Europe.
We're also welcoming more UK day-trippers. They'll fly over for the day, book a couple of experiences, have dinner, and head home that evening. That's a customer profile we really didn't have before.
How have GetYourGuide's tools helped you improve your products?
The moment we knew the GetYourGuide partnership was really working was when we discovered the monthly reporting dashboard. We always knew bookings were coming in, but having a monthly report showing exactly where customers were coming from, how many bookings we'd received, and how everything was performing completely changed the way we looked at the business. That data has become invaluable.
Another big improvement was changing how customers book across our two workshop locations. Previously, guests booked each location separately, which created confusion and meant people sometimes arrived at the wrong venue. We restructured the listings so customers first choose the workshop, then select their preferred location option underneath it. That simple change made booking much clearer and reduced customer confusion dramatically.
We also updated our product titles so "Dublin" appears immediately, making it much easier for travelers searching by destination to find us. We've also improved imagery, reorganized listings, and grouped workshops together under a single umbrella product with different options. Those changes have definitely increased sales.
Do GetYourGuide customers differ from direct customers?
Definitely. Direct website customers are usually local groups, friends, or hen parties who are looking for a fun activity together. GetYourGuide customers are more likely to be international travelers looking for storytelling, Irish history, and cultural context alongside the workshop itself.
We've actually adapted how we teach depending on the audience because those visitors want more of the story behind the jewelry and Irish traditions.
What's next for Silver Works?
One priority is opening availability much further in advance. After reviewing booking data, we realized we were missing potential bookings simply because future availability wasn't open early enough.
We've now expanded our calendar much further ahead to capture more advance bookings.
What advice would you give another operator considering GetYourGuide?
Partnering with GetYourGuide has grown our reach in multiple directions. Yes, commissions can seem high, but when you look at the additional bookings and customers you're reaching, it's absolutely worth it.
I'd also recommend working closely with the GetYourGuide team. They understand what performs well and can help shape your listings so they stand out.
Key takeaways
- Build capacity before demand accelerates: Silver Works grew from a few hundred annual guests to 20,000 to 30,000 by expanding into two studios, growing its team to around 30 people, and creating space for up to 60 guests at once.
- Use GetYourGuide to diversify your customer base: GetYourGuide now drives 35 to 40% of bookings and has helped Silver Works reach new audiences across the Nordics, the UK, and wider Europe.
- Turn reporting into business decisions: Monthly performance reports showed Silver Works where guests were coming from, which markets were growing, and where future marketing activity could have the most impact.
- Remove friction from the booking process: Combining two studio locations under one product listing reduced confusion, helped guests choose the right venue, and made the experience easier to book.
- Adapt your product to how travelers behave: Silver Works opened availability further in advance, improved its titles and imagery, and added more Irish history and storytelling for international guests looking for cultural context.
