RHS, Dexam Announce Kitchen Textile Collaborations

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced two collaborations with Dexam, a specialist supplier of kitchen cookware, bakeware and accessories. The new textile ranges, called Birds and Gertrude Jekyll, use designs inspired by artwork from the RHS Lindley Collections, the world’s finest collection of botanical art on high-quality organic cotton.

The Birds collection includes an adult apron, a set of two tea towels, double oven gloves and a peg bag, in a heritage-inspired pattern featuring foliage and birds in teal, pink and yellow.

The Gertrude Jekyll collection also includes an adult apron, a set of two tea towels, double oven gloves and a peg bag. Its design uses a tile pattern from the marble pavement of the Duomo in Milan contrasted with a floral and leafy spray design, which is reproduced and repeated.

Both designs are adapted from the Designs for Carving scrapbook by the pioneering gardener, Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932). Jekyll laid the basis for modern garden design and is credited with popularizing an informal, naturalistic look in counterpoint to the rigid, formal landscapes of the Victorian era. She created some 400 gardens in the U.K., Europe and America and her influence on garden design continues to this day.

Both ranges are made with organically grown cotton yarn, which makes fewer demands on water, reduces soil erosion and does not use hazardous man-made pesticides. Organic cotton farming helps lock CO2 into the soil, mitigating climate change. It also benefits farmers, who can grow additional crops alongside the cotton, and maintains the biodiversity of the soil.

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This is the latest in a number of collaborations between the RHS and Dexam. The 2020 Home Grown collection of backpacks, lunch bags, aprons and more was aimed at the children’s market, as was 2022’s playful collection called I Bug You. Adult kitchenware ranges have included Sunflower and a Mistletoe print-based collections.

“Following successful launches in 2020, 2022 and this year, we are delighted to be continuing this productive and inspirational collaboration with these two new ranges,” says Helen Boardman, product manager, Dexam. “It is, as ever, a delight to partner with the RHS, to make use of its wonderful design assets and to support its work. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the U.K.’s favorite gardening charity.”

“These two new designs from Dexam perfectly demonstrate the versatility of the artwork held in our historical collections within the Lindley Library and show how that artwork can be used in a bright, colorful and contemporary way,” says Cathy Snow, licensing manager, RHS. “We are delighted with the continued success of our partnership with Dexam and the exceptionally creative way Dexam brings our imagery to its wonderful products.”