Good cutlery makes a meal more enjoyable for you and your dinner guests... but it's also an investment. Amanda Wragg spoke to top cutlery designer Corin Mellor about the all-important tableware.
Corin Mellor sits back in his chair with a hesitant smile. As successor to the iconic design business created by his father David in the 1950s, it’s fallen to Corin to grow the brand and take it into the next decade. With commissions from 10 Downing Street, Rolls Royce, Gucci and the Sydney Opera House (not to mention a certain Diamond Jubilee job) things are looking good. He’s recently designed his first cutlery range since his father’s death in 2009; but has it worked?
Slow Burn
‘It’s always a slow burn with cutlery. It never takes off immediately. But it looks like it’s going well at this stage’ says Corin. ‘It’s important to remember that we design something that people want to keep for life – you can come back in 20 years and buy one of our teaspoons; we’ll still be making your design. It’s not like buying a shirt! We’re not interested in passing trends.’
A certain Englishness
‘The idea behind the new range was to make something that was pretty understated. We looked at a lot of traditional, earlier designs. We wanted to manipulate the form and make it incredibly curvy and we’ve put a lot of weight in the middle so that it’s beautiful to hold. Something plain, with a certain Englishness about it... something understated, which also works incredibly well’.
Swinging Chelsea
Given that the factory is hidden away in the depths of the Derbyshire Peak District, why is the range called Chelsea? ‘Everything really started there in the Swinging Sixties; my dad opened his first shop in Sloane Square in 1969, and Chelsea evokes trend-setting - it’s always been a vibrant place. And there’s maybe just a tinge of nostalgia in there too. It’s supposed to look modern but not frightening and look good in ten years time. I didn’t want to do something really cutting edge.’
Design aware
So does well-designed cutlery have a cultural significance? ‘Over the last ten years or so people have become much more design-aware. Provenance is more important now than it was: people want a Philippe Starck chair for example, and a name on the side of their spectacles. Cutlery reflects a certain status.’
‘Also I think the way people entertain at home has changed: they’re bothered about what the table looks like; this is mostly fuelled by media. Cutlery has always been a bit of a status thing – people like sterling silver or silver plate. We had our Terence Conran moment when we wanted our kitchens to look as good as our living rooms, then a Laura Ashley phase and then a minimalist movement. And now I think we’re moving back to craft a bit more. It goes in cycles, like anything else.’
A Sheffield tradition
So what relevance has cutlery got in 2012? ‘People want a sense of continuity and a bit of opulence, so we’ve gone back to a Sheffield tradition and produced a full range that’s got a tool for every purpose. Each piece has been designed to perform a specific function - you can impress your dinner guests by putting twelve pieces in front of them!’
Do you own a 'best set' of cutlery that only comes out on high days and holidays? Or do you use it everyday? Is your cutlery draw a collection of odds and ends you've collected over the years? Let us know in the comments box below.
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