Textile designer Helen James, who was design director of Donna Karan Home in New York, has produced a homewares collection for Dunnes Stores and it goes on sale in selected branches tomorrow. Considered, by Helen James, is a beautifully conceived selection of cookware, baking equipment and artisan food products.
“I had just had my third child and took some time off. I was looking at my books and realised they were all interiors and cookery books. And I realised I was kind of over the whole fashion thing,” says the designer, previously known for her textiles and accessories range.
“I am a huge baker, I’ve been doing it since I was 12, and this is my opportunity to bring textiles and food together,” she says. The range is heavily weighted towards baking, and James has written a collection of recipes – “old favourites that I’ve tweaked a bit” – that are online at dunnesstores.com/helenjames and will be added to weekly. “Next week is national bread week, so I will be putting up my no-knead bread recipe, which I cook in a cast iron casserole.”
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The range includes just such a casserole (€70), with the bread recipe inside. Standout pieces include the Mercer range of powder-coated metal serving dishes with lids (from €15), plates (from €5) and bowls (from €5), which look like porcelain, but are featherweight. There are some lovely copper pots from Turkey, including a sauce pot (€60) and two-handle saute pans in two sizes (€55 and €70). A small selection of kitchen furniture – an oak table (€795) and chairs (€150) – is made in Ireland with sustainable European wood.
Considered, as its name suggests, is a carefully thought out collection, down to the tumbler candles (€12), which have been produced in aromas such as root ginger, lemon balm, and mandarin rind, designed to complement rather than overpower food. “If you’ve been frying and want to get rid of the smell, you might want to burn a candle, but not necessarily tuberose,” she says.
There’s a touch of humour, too, in the linen kitchen towels (€7) which say “I am sorry for what I said when I was hungry”. And good manners are not overlooked for there are boxes of embossed thank you cards with distinctive Helen James print envelopes (€6), to send to your host or hostess.
The range of food products is made by small producers including Folláin, Wexford Preserves and Skelligs Chocolate. There’s a ginger syrup which James recommends adding to whipped cream, and raspberry and rose jam, which she uses to sandwich sponge cakes. Toffee butter sauce goes on sale next week and comes with a warning: “if you stick a spoon in it, you won’t be able to stop,” she says.
For a list of Dunnes Stores branches stocking the range, see dunnesstores.com/helenjames.
