Corkonians Abroad: Three Cork sisters carve out new life in New York

THE Wilkins sisters, Ciara, Caroline and Cassie, from Dublin Hill in Cork city, all currently call New York home.

In this week’s Corkonians Abroad, I found out how they ended up in the Big Apple, and what life is like in their new home.

First up, I spoke to Cassie Wilkins, who lives in the Woodlawn area of the Bronx and works in midtown Manhattan.

Did the fact your sisters were already in New York impact your move over?

Massively, I can easily say I couldn’t have made New York my home without them.

Along with being my sisters, they’re my best friends, and New York can be intense at the start for even the strongest person.

They keep me sane and can become a comedian or therapist for me on any given day, I know how lucky I am with them.

What have been your most memorable moments in New York so far?

Getting engaged in Central Park. I never saw it coming and am still not over it. Amazing and intimate moment in an iconic New York spot.

Also, sitting and laughing as the sun goes down with my family on Long Beach Island, a summer spot we visit each year. I think it’s very special to us all.

Any special mentions to friends or family back in Cork?

Loads! My stunning parents Mary and Kieran, my uncles and aunts - Mick, Tom, Cars, Tina, Fiona. My cousins - Soph’, Ryan, Leah, Abbey, Adam, Rian. My Cummins Crew, the O’Regans, Melissa Duggan. My West Cork family. Honestly, most of the north side and a lot of the South, ha.

What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

I’m really looking forward to hitting Florida at the end of this month, it’s my dad’s big birthday and we’ll be putting him on every rollercoaster in Universal Studios.

Next sister up, Ciara Wilkins, who currently lives in Manhattan.

How did you end up in New York, Ciara?

I was about 13 years old and had always wanted to live in New York. My aunty had treated me with a trip to visit her in Washington DC as my Confirmation present. I made my mind up then that I wanted to live in America.

I started dancing at the age of two and a half. In my teens all I did was dance. I was consumed by dancing and I even went to college to train as a professional.

I think that is what made me gravitate towards New York, but when I graduated from college, I lost all courage and went into retail management instead.

Then, in my mid- to late-twenties, the recession really kicked in. It was Christmas, 2011, into 2012, that I realised I couldn’t take it any more. Everyone was struggling and home just wasn’t where I wanted to be any more.

In January, 2012, I decided to take a leap of faith by booking tickets and I moved to New York that March.

What has been the biggest challenge?

To be content and happy at where I am in life and to be happy with what I have.

This city can sometimes be like following influencers on social media. It can make you want more and more when it may not be necessary. You end up putting an immense amount of pressure on yourself and you can sometimes feel like you’re not making it here or getting anywhere.

It’s true when Frank Sinatra sang “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”.

I’ve found myself in situations that you would think only happen in the movies. Like breaking down bawling crying in front of a street full of mechanics after ripping my car door off a concrete barrier while pulling out to leave. Never mind that I was already there to get my car fixed after a truck driver did a hit and run on it.

I really felt like it was time to give it all up, but a voice inside kept nagging at me to persevere.

I realised I was getting in my own way. I had no choice but to slow down and chill out.

I needed to be grateful and appreciate what I had achieved and how far I had come in this city.

Tell us about your work?

I work in construction and I’ve been in this industry for 10 years.

I started out in project management in concrete, masonry and demolition. While I was in demolition, a former colleague of mine asked me if I wanted to do rigging for cranes part- time. Initially, I thought I wouldn’t be cut out for it, but you don’t get anywhere in this city if you don’t try the opportunities presented to you. Especially if you’re a woman in this industry.

Now I’m an operations manager and rigger/lift director for a crane rigging company.

Finally, the third Wilkins sister, Caroline, who lives in lower Manhattan, in the East Village.

Tell us a little about your neighbourhood?

It has so much history in music and in the arts in general, and I definitely think you can still feel all of that.

I think it’s aesthetically a bit grungier around here, and when I first moved here it just struck me how individual and unique everyone was, not only in how they dress but personalities, likes, dislikes, how they spend their time.

I work in a bar two nights a week near my apartment called Tom and Jerry’s. I can’t express how grateful I am to work there, I have such a soft spot for the place. It’s 30 years old which is pretty rare these days in New York City, the owners are two Kerry men who are full of mischief and are so lovely to work for.

I think a big difference from Ireland would be the daily pace here. You could start your day off with nothing on your agenda and, at the end of the day, you’re absolutely bate because you still have things to do.

Every night is a potential night out because there’s always something going on, and that’s great most of the time, but every few months, all of a sudden, you’re one step away from the fetal position.

Tell us about your career?

I work as a metalsmith/jeweller and started a little business called SBB The Collection, where I make handcrafted jewellery using mostly sterling silver, gold, and semi-precious/precious stones. It started about seven or eight years ago as a handmade business called StickyBackBailey.

I used a lot of wire-wrapping techniques and used materials in anything from leather, to feathers, sterling silver or discarded scrap jewellery metals, from thrift stores that I would repurpose, and I started getting messages from friends on Instagram and Snapchat in a commission form.

I really couldn’t believe it, I was so excited and it sort of slowly grew from there.

After a year and a half, I was getting a lot of ideas that I didn’t have the skill-set to make, and was getting frustrated, so I found an amazing goldsmith/jeweller on 5th Avenue and started learning with him.

In the pandemic, I started my own collection and relaunched the business as SBB The Collection, making my first attempt in the ‘Fine Jewellery’ end of the industry.

At the time, I put my entire savings into it, without a second thought. I did an intense business course online, but when I think about that now, it was absolute madness and unlike me too.

All the pieces are based on various themes such as connection, love, the female body, sensuality, mental health, breaking stigmas, etc, so they mean a lot to me personally.

I had a lovely little highlight recently and found out my pieces are featured twice in British Vogue, one in print and one online for the next three months - January, February, and March, 2024. That was such a happy moment when I found out that was going to happen, because I had written down that it would two years ago without a hope, a prayer or a clue what I was doing.

I spend three or four days a week (depending on the time of year) between the metal workshop in Brooklyn and the Diamond district in Manhattan.

Has living in a different part of the world together strengthened your sibling connections?

I’d say we’ve always been pretty close as a family, but as sisters we kill each other half the time too.

Knowing that each of us is always a train or Uber away is so comforting. All three of us have joked that if you haven’t cried on the subway, are you even doing it?

We also have a lot of interconnected friends here like we might at home.

I don’t want to be too cheesy now, but like anywhere, knowing them as adults, and watching them carve their paths, and all their achievements, especially away from home, makes me so proud and I’m constantly learning from them.