TV presenter, mum and now fashion entrepreneur, Anna Daly has been using our new slower pace of life to concentrate on the things that are important to her. She talks to Jennifer Stevens about her new business and life in a house full of boys. 

If there’s one thing Covid has taught us all, it’s that it’s important to seize the moment and follow your dreams.  After all, we know now, more than ever that you never know what’s coming around the corner. 

Anna Daly certainly followed this advice when she launched Little Bliss by Anna, her fashion business last December. 

“We went live on the 2 December, and it was just unbelievable. I was watching the orders come through on that first day and, initially, they’re all your friends and family or people you know and then in the afternoon it changed. I said to Ben, my husband, ‘oh my God, there's randomers buying my stuff’. He laughed and was quick to remind me that they’re my customers, but I was just so shocked that there were people I didn’t know spending their hard-earned cash on my products rather than just my friends and family who wanted to be nice. I got a bit panicky about that part, that people were actually parting with their money. But it was such a buzz and the buzz really hasn't stopped. When I go on the school run and see other people wearing my hoodies, it’s such a thrill. I’m waving like an absolute lunatic at them.”

Although obviously hard, the pandemic offered a much-needed change of pace for Anna’s family. Sadly, Mothercare, Ben’s family business closed its doors last year and, although that was a very difficult time, it meant that both he and Anna were at home with their three sons in a way they hadn’t been before. 

“I think the whole pandemic has taught us all a lesson in terms of having difficult times and doing other things that we can control. Everything that happened has made me realise that, actually, nothing is safe. The things that you think are the safest parts of your life are not safe at all. 

“Ben’s business closing was so hard but on a hugely positive note we’ve both had time to develop new businesses and work from home. During one of the earliest stages of lockdown one of my kids said, ‘do we really have the two of you here?’ That's a real wake-up call. You realise that you formed this tag team and one always drops the kids off and one picks them up – just like every couple trying to make it work. It's such a novelty for the kids to have two parents at home. It's like they're on their holidays or something. I really enjoyed that quiet time. Things slowed for me outside my day job because there were no corporate events, no places to be, no things to turn up to because you felt like you should. I've used the time to develop my new brand.

“I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts with some really successful female entrepreneurs that I admire and they all say the same thing. These women are very focussed and while yes, they have their chosen charities and give back and do great things, they don't say yes to everything that’s asked of them, that's not part of their overall strategy. If it doesn't build a path to where they want to be, they say no. Irish culture has this whole, ‘will you join the board? will you do the judging? will you do this? will you do that?’ There's no fee against anything and it all takes time. I’ve realised that that’s not the right thing to do anymore.

Anna makes it sound like plain sailing, but she was still presenting Ireland Am on Virgin Media Television and looking after three boys who needed to be home schooled. Creating a new fashion brand in the midst of all that can’t have been easy. 

“I did what lots of mums did. I worked in the evenings when the kids went to bed. But it was ok because I really enjoyed it. I could sit up until 1am, working on designs or logos or anything. It really wouldn't feel like a chore because I was developing something that was bouncing around in my head for years. I just never gave myself the chance. I just never really sat down and decided to make it happen. In a way, that lockdown time was really good for me in terms of family and developing something for myself.”

Anna has created the perfect brand for the times we live in. It’s relaxed leisure wear, clothes you can be comfortable in but that also look good when you’re leaving the house. Irish people have always been great for spending money on dresses and coats that we might wear once to a special event but then spend nothing on our day-to-day wardrobe and wonder why our basics are such poor quality. The pandemic has made many of us realise that this attitude to our wardrobes may be a little backwards. 

“I couldn’t have timed it better, I really couldn’t. I’d like to say that I knew that that whole world would be doing Zoom meetings wearing their hoodies but how could I have known what was going to happen? There has been this complete shift here in terms of the way we work, the way we dress and, also I think, the way we shop. We’re all, and I’m including myself in this, so guilty of spending weeks and months looking for the right dress for this big occasion. We spend a fortune on it and then we wear it once to a wedding. But if you look at French women or European women generally, they spend a fortune on their Tuesday jumper because they wear it all the time. 

“I’m sure most people are like me and the minute you get home, you go into mummy mode, in runners and jeans and a hoodie. I wanted to create a brand that worked for me and my life and stayed true to my own real-world style.”

Of course, as well as launching Little Bliss, Anna was also on our screens in the mornings as part of the presenting team of Ireland Am. 

“For me, work felt like a very safe place. They put the presenter pods in place to keep everyone protected. I was paired with Simon, which was great. We’re very different but we have gas crack - we could kill each other but we could say anything to each other too. I loved going to work. I think we covered important stuff that people wanted to hear about at the time, but I think we also brought a little bit of fun to the situation. I remember saying to Simon, ‘do you know what, if people are laughing at us or with us, it really doesn't matter’. Also, going to work got me off a bit of home schooling because obviously it’s pretty hard to broadcast from the house.

“It's a very interactive show, people get in touch all morning and they drive the programme in a lot of ways. They were more interactive during the pandemic. They shared their concerns, their funny stuff. It felt lovely to be part of that, to be honest. And there were more handwritten letters during the pandemic than ever before. 

“People feel like they really know us which is lovely but sometimes it leads to some very funny comments. At one stage my roots were getting so bad it was embarrassing. I had tried every root product there was to try and cover them, but nothing was working. They really did look black compared to the rest of my hair. Then one day an email arrives in from a viewer. We had had a very serious interview that morning on the show. Now I’m not a journalist but I take my job and those interviews seriously and this message says, ‘I have to take my hat off to Anna Daly. Her focus on her journalism is more important to her than the way she looks, clearly. And I have to admire her for that.’ Have you ever heard a more Irish, back handed compliment? I don't know whether I love that person or…”

For now, with her hair freshly coiffed, Anna is busy with her day job, her family and her own business. No mean feat, especially over the year and a half we’ve all had but she’s wearing it lightly and there seems to be no better woman to keep an eye on so many pots. 

“It's keeping me busy, but like I say, it's a nice busy. It can fall in around family. I can do the housey stuff and the kid’s stuff and then sit and have a coffee at the table and update the sizes for Little Bliss or do whatever I need to do. It's a nice place to be.”