Saturday with Anya Hindmarch: Weekdays are busy, I work a lot on Sundays — Saturday is my day

British designer and author Anya Hindmarch is best known for her playful handbags and accessories.

Anya Hindmarch: I often work on a Sunday afternoon — clearing last week’s overflow, preparing for the following week… Saturday afternoons, in contrast, tend to be all galleries and children.

08.15

I get up as late as I can — usually around 8.15am. 

I’ve always been a sleep lover and never a willing early riser. 

My weekdays are busy and I tend to work a lot on Sundays, so Saturday is my day and I find that I can nudge away any oncoming illnesses or anything like that by getting lots of sleep. 

We did a whole store on the subject of sleep in the Anya Village and had experts from Oxford University speak on sleep and circadian rhythms. 

I track my sleep with an Oura ring. I’m very interested in sleep and believe that it does me a lot of good.

09.00

My husband brings me the sports section of The Guardian (knowing that I don’t like the sports section of The Guardian) and a cup of coffee. 

We then take our time to get up and hang around and have good chats with whichever of the five kids happen to be in the house — the youngest is 21 so they’re grown-up chats.

11.00

We tend to go for a long walk before lunch — there’s a food market at the end of the street so we might grab a pain au chocolat and walk around Battersea Park. 

We’ll talk to the kids or myself and my husband will share headphones and listen to a podcast.

I love Desert Island Discs, The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics, some founders’ shows about starting businesses and scaling up… all sorts of things.

13.00

We spend a lot of time in the countryside but if we’re in London we’ll go to the Anya Cafe for lunch, which is nice because I can see the team in a slightly more relaxed way. 

We’ll have a smoked salmon tartine or avocado on toast. East London is a super-cool spot right now with really interesting restaurants. 

We might go to the Chelsea Arts Club, which is a private members’ club but kooky and fun and without a dress code so it’s more relaxed. 

We also love Oliveto for pizza.

15.00

I often work on a Sunday afternoon — clearing last week’s overflow, preparing for the following week… Saturday afternoons, in contrast, tend to be all galleries and children. 

I might take my daughter for a manicure or visit my parents. Lately one of my favourite things to do is to go on a private walking tour of certain parts of London. 

It is a gorgeous way to spend a few hours — not talking, just learning — a really nice way to switch off. I find it a nice way to relax on holidays too. 

We recently went to Pompeii and I was so absorbed in it that it gave me a real break. I get inspiration just by being curious. 

Feed your brain, get out and see stuff. Walking is amazing because you see things that you’d never see otherwise — look up!

16.30

The afternoon is spent mooching around, doing chores or whatever, and then I like to lock the doors, light the fire, and chill. 

I think you need free time — time that’s not planned.

18.00

We might have people over or it might be quiet in the evening. 

My husband is a fantastic cook, which is great because I can’t cook at all, so he’ll tend to make something nice and low-key out of whatever is in the fridge.

20.00

If we do go out, it would probably be to a friend’s house. I don’t like trendy restaurants at all — they seem too much like work to me — so we might go somewhere local or try cuisine we haven’t tried before. 

I am passionate about choral music and there are some beautiful performances by groups like The Sixteen or The Tallis Scholars in old candle-filled churches. 

A group of us will have a drink in a nearby pub and go to listen to some old music. It can be a beautiful, almost meditative way to spend a Saturday night. 

I wanted to sing professionally at one point. 

I studied music until I was 18 but I probably wouldn’t have made it as a career — you have to be really good and I don’t think I was. 

It is something I’d like to go back to when I retire.

21.00

Midweek is so full-on that I am desperate to get to bed on a Saturday night. 

It’s the idea of having time to write my diary, read a book, or watch something — going to bed early so that I’m not panicking about getting to sleep quickly is an indulgent thing. 

I am a three-screen person, I’m the worst, but it doesn’t seem to stop me sleeping. 

Sleep is my No1 priority at the week-end and it’s interesting when you start learning about how you sleep. 

I’m not particularly fussy about my skincare regime. I’m a great believer in soap and water, plenty of sleep, and not too much alcohol.

Anya Brands' Lea and Perrins tote bag

• The Anya Hindmarch pop-up shop has just opened on Level 1, Brown Thomas, Grafton Street, Dublin.