Would you snuggle up with a Bed Angel?
ANN CUNNINGHAM
You’d be forgiven for not knowing what a Bed Angel is. At least for the moment. But it’s looking like The Bed Angel is here to stay, as it’s gaining popularity at a rate of knots. I spoke with Fiona Kealy, one half The Bed Angel company, the other being her good friend Janet Clarke, about their charming Bed Angels and about how they came about. But more of that later. First you need to know exactly what a Bed Angel is and I can’t explain it any better than Fiona does in her own words on The Bed Angel website, so here’s a potted version of The Bed Angel story:
“The idea for The Bed Angel first came to me at about 4am one Friday morning in Easter. The bin men were outside and I woke with a start as they shoved the bins back into place. I jumped in my bed but then realised all was OK. I could go back to sleep. It was just the bins and, after all, I had ‘himself’ in the bed beside me.
“Then I got to thinking about all of the people who sleep alone and are nervous if they’re woken in the night. Like my mother who is 70 and a widow. And my friend who lost her husband in his 30’s….I thought of all of the people who sleep alone because they’re apart from their loved ones…I thought about the people who need to check on those they care for at night and who might find it hard to get back to sleep – like elderly parents, special needs kids, their own spouse….
“Lastly I thought about all the special needs grown-ups and children, like my brother who is autistic, like my daughter when she was in hospital… And the idea for the special angel pillow was born.
“Janet was already a good friend of mine and I knew that she had lots of great experience making beautiful garments and crafts, so when I ran the idea for The Bed Angel past her and she agreed to come on board I was delighted…
“Our idea is that you snuggle up with The Bed Angel and comfort yourself back to sleep. The wing also holds a voice box where you can record a message like:
‘It’s ok – you can go back to sleep now’
“Or someone special can record a message for you. (It could be a parent’s voice comforting a child, a partner’s voice, whoever is important to you)
Inside the end of the angel wing is a keepsake pocket to put mementos in if you want to (I used some medals my Grandad had). But everyone has valuables that are of no monetary value but are priceless to them.”
Fiona is a native Meath woman, originally from Ratoath, now living in Dunsany with her husband Dermot and their three children, Rian, Eoin and Ava. After studying marketing, Fiona worked for the world’s best known advertising agency – New York’s Saatchi and Saatchi. Later, she worked in Irish advertising agencies as well as in finance, and she also helped her husband establish his own firm. Fiona’s business partner Janet is no lightweight when it comes to design and impeccable craftsmanship, having herself worked for Ib Jorgansen. So it’s probably fair to say that both women’s prior experience was invaluable when it came to setting up The Bed Angel.
But good ideas are simply that – just good ideas – unless you’re willing to see them through. Meath Local Enterprise Office, particularly Lorna Cooney, stepped in at the prototype stage, referring them to a patent mentor and later a marketing mentor, as well as part-funding The Bed Angels’ (very stylish) website. The Bed Angel was officially launched, after a year of hard work and solid research, on March 8th, a particularly appropriate date – International Women’s Day – in Caldwell’s Coffee House in Ratoath.
“It went very well” says Fiona. “We sold out at the launch and took orders for more. From our website, we’ve taken orders from France, Switzerland, the UK and the US. We’ve had lots of lovely comments from mums who bought them for their children.”
And so, even at this early stage, it appears that The Bed Angel is (if you’ll excuse the pun) winging its way to richly-deserved success.
I asked Fiona about who inspires her in business, in Ireland or further afield and she mentioned Bernice Moran, founder of Be Sweet Confectionery Company, Norah Casey, Richard Branson and the Pratt family at Avoca “…for creating a brand that covers fashion, home, giftware, food. We’d love to see our Bed Angels stocked in the Avoca stores around the country.”
As well as running a business there’s a family and a home to be taken care of. Her kids are keen on sport and evening and weekends are spent driving them to and from matches. “Although the boys are great cooks and chip in when I’m busy” she says.
While her passion used to be animal rescue, with so little time on her hands she says that now “..a good bottle of red wine and an episode of The Good Wife ticks all the boxes for me”.
“I don’t really relax much and probably need to work harder at this. At the moment I’m reading all things sleep-related: Arianna Huffington’s ‘The Sleep Revolution’ and Marie Heaney’s ‘All Through The Night’”.
Does Fiona have any tips for women starting out or venturing into business?
“Just do it really! Research your market, look at your competitors, their product, pricing, packaging, distribution, promotions. See if you can make a difference. If you have an original idea keep it to yourself until you see if it’s patentable!
“Visit to your local County Enterprise Board and don’t be afraid to stand up for what your business needs!
“I also joined the ACORNS program. It’s for rural, female entrepreneurs and it has been very worthwhile in terms of mentoring, planning, confidential round table discussions and making great friends”.
For more information on Bed Angels, visit The Bed Angel Website: www.thebedangel.com