Helen James, Designer of the Considered brand at Dunnes Stores

Your “new” working day?

I have been attending the office since lockdown was lifted – it’s just not possible to do my job working from home, a fact that might surprise people who assume a designer can work from anywhere! Not true. I work on large Apple Mac design computers, which are so not portable. I am in HQ every day. I am enjoying being back to the routine and getting dressed for the office. It’s energising! Most of the team are working from home 50 per cent of the time. I walk to the office so my commute has not really changed, except there are fewer people on the street.

What challenges are presented now?

Approving samples while working from home is impossible!

A lesson learned when you WFH?

I found it really difficult to not be around my team. I love the collaborative aspect of my work so I found the inability to do that really challenging. Using technology for everything can be distracting and finding a rhythm of working when you are not in the same room as a co-creator is difficult. You might be feeling really inspired and the person you want to connect with could be in the middle of doing some mundane task. If you are physically together you are usually on the same page.

As the world has become smaller, where do you draw inspiration from? 

I find it online, and also by getting outside into nature, even just pottering about in my garden is good. I meditate every morning, just for ten minutes. I have been doing that for nearly three years and it has truly changed my life and how I deal with stress.

A goal to achieve before the end of 2020?

Finish reading Wolf Hall! I thought I would get through it in lockdown but didn’t; the politics are so relevant today. I also need to finally sort through my wardrobe and do a serious cull of clothes that no longer serve me. I feel like now a streamlined wardrobe is going to make all our lives so much easier.

Photograph by Simon Watson