Ask the Expert: Corin Mellor Talks Flatware (Make That Cutlery) - Remodelista
Last week, I sat down to interview Corin Mellor of David Mellor Design at Heath’s San Francisco factory, where there is currently a show showcasing the UK company’s design history from the 1950s to today. We asked him to give us a few insights into the design of the company’s most famous item, Mellor cutlery. Photo of the Round Building by Carol Sachs. Good design extends to the Mellor factory itself–commissioned after Broom Hall had become too small, the Round Building, the company’s current cutlery factory, was built in 1990 by Michael Hopkins & Partners. Pride Flatware; a set of five is $148 from Heath. In continuous production since 1953 (N.B. RM: What sets it apart?CM: Although the design has a period 1950s aesthetic, it also has a timeless quality and is particularly delicate and refined both to look at and to eat with. RM: If there was no David Mellor, what would you use for cutlery? What makes a perfect knife, fork, and spoon? It might be that you take a couple of pieces of different designs home to test them in the home environment, as many of our customers do. Corin Mellor at work; photo by Carol Sachs. Some of the components used in the finishing of David Mellor cutlery include calico dusters and polishers. You’ll notice the scratches after a few months use, but as the cutlery ages, it will gradually develop into a nice patina. CM: In the UK, the most popular are Pride and Paris. Photograph by Catherine Bailey. Corin Mellor’s Chelsea Flatware is $96.25 for a set of five from Heath. RM: What makes these pieces so timeless? RM: Your father’s biggest influence on you? This often means a long process that may result in scrapping a design or revisiting it at a later date. David Mellor at work; image via the BBC.