How agreeable are you?
I think I am agreeable. I’m not a people pleaser, but I have patience where it matters and for those who need it. I try to be considerate and co-operative with others, but I am also not afraid to voice my opinion. I feel it’s innate in me. I’m happy in my own company, I’m happy in other people’s company, but I also think that how I grew up and the circumstances in which I grew up – I have a brother who has Down syndrome – have also shaped me.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Clare, so my first two initials are PC, which I like to think I am! I like it. I’m not named after any family member; my mother just liked the name Paula because it means petite. Also, I have four brothers, so I think by the time my mum had daughters, she was choosing names that she really liked as opposed to naming them after people she knew or were in the family.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
Anywhere in west Cork, but if I had to choose just one part, it would be Goleen. The reasons are obvious to anyone who knows it – it has a raw, unspoilt beauty, wild skies, the Atlantic horizon, and time seems to naturally slow down. As a family we went to west Cork from when I was about eight; we’d go to places like Schull and Ballydehob. You didn’t get a lot of people going to those places back then, and it certainly wasn’t as trendy as it is now. Even now, though, at the age of 52 and, like most people, very busy, the most important thing for me is that I can switch off. It’s just so beautiful – you’re nearly hit with that beauty when you go there. The cold air, the sounds, the views, everything.
[ Irish designer is hand-in-glove with MadonnaOpens in new window ]
Describe yourself in three words.
Principled, conscientious, resilient. I’m quite a principled person. My father had been educated by the Jesuits, so growing up, everything was about doing something properly, doing it assuredly and doing it with good ethics. I like to feel that I apply those principles to my life in every way. As a creative person, I’m very conscientious, quite emotional and aware of other people’s feelings and reactions. And resilience speaks for itself. I’m in a tough business, and yet through a recession and Covid, I’m still standing. Also, being the youngest in a large family usually instils resilience because you sometimes have to shout for what you want, so I would very much be a person who faces problems instead of running away from them.
RM Block
When did you last get angry?
Listening to the news this morning. On the flip side, it makes me even more grateful for the life I have.
What have you lost that you would like to get back?
Each year I write a goal list for the coming year. I make sure to have completed it by New Year’s Eve, and at the end of the year I mark off all of the things that I have achieved on it. This year’s list was stolen from my car, so it’s useless to anyone else but significant to me. On a personal note, my dad died when I was 28, and it would have been lovely if he had been here to see what I’d achieved in business and life. I think anyone of a young age who has lost a parent would have a similar opinion because, as I say, I was in my 20s, I was only a few years out of college, and I hadn’t fully matured as a person. So yes, I would love to have had more time with him.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
A picnic on Barley Cove Beach, which is close to Goleen, Co Cork. Irish summer weather can go from hot to cold, and I remember jumping in and out of the freezing water with my brother Derek, who is a far superior swimmer to me. So nothing lavish, just a lovely family memory in a beautiful setting.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
I am the youngest of six children, and yes, I do feel being the youngest has defined me. My eldest brother, Derek, who is now 66, has Down syndrome, and I feel he has always given me a different perspective on life, in that you understand empathy, compassion and what really matters from a young age. Some say being the youngest means you were spoiled. I beg to differ, although my mum still refers to me as “the baby of the family”.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
Looking at it scientifically, I reckon everything shuts down and things are quite final. It would be comforting to imagine that something deeper than our physical self continues, but none of us really knows. What matters to me is leaving a memorable legacy and values that live on in certain ways. I suppose there’s a certain comfort, also, for people whose loved ones have passed to feel they are there in spirit, in some shape or form.
[ Go Gaga for Irish designer’s gloves in House of Gucci movieOpens in new window ]
When were you happiest?
I think I am happiest now. I’m fortunate to be in a good place in life, and I think that comes with age and greater self-awareness. Spending time with people I want to be with, working on projects that interest me, living in a place I love – I feel very privileged and take none of it for granted. Happiness is not just about one moment in time, however, it’s about overall contentment.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
If she were still alive, I would like it to be Maggie Smith because she brought both humour and intelligence to her roles. And then there’s Cate Blanchett because she adapts effortlessly to so many different characters. The power that an actor has to brilliantly convince you that they’re somebody else is unbelievable. I think they’re very strong actors in different ways, and I love the idea that they’re from different generations.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
Listening to the wrong advice. I was told on many occasions did I actually think I could base a business around making and selling gloves. That pretty much sums it up. God knows what I’d be doing if I had acted seriously on that kind of advice. I felt I had to go out and prove them wrong, which I did.
Have you any psychological quirks?
It is wonderfully ironic that as I am a glove designer, I have great difficulty deciphering right and left. I tend to raise my hands and give a little wave so that I can tell them apart. You could say it makes me think about hands all the more.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
