David Mellor cutlery
A unique collection of modern cutlery designed by David Mellor, Royal Designer for Industry.
Our cutlery is made by a small specialist team of highly skilled craftsmen, some of whom have worked for decades with David Mellor, building up an exceptional expertise in metalwork. Though the factory is technologically advanced, a high degree of hand finishing is employed to give the cutlery its perfectionist quality.
The collection
Pride
David Mellor’s iconic ‘Pride’ cutlery was designed in 1953 while Mellor was still a student at the Royal College of Art and it was included in the very first Design Centre Awards in 1957. The design is still unrivalled in its beauty and simplicity of form.
Café
Robust everyday stainless steel cutlery which is also superbly well designed. Mellor’s modern classic originated in the 1960s and has now been in continuous production for almost half a century.
English
David Mellor’s English cutlery is a deceptively simple design of great sophistication and subtlety. The gently flowing lines are typical of Mellor, whose expertise in metal derived from his early training as a silversmith.
Chelsea
Corin Mellor’s new cutlery design is a real breakthrough. Though it shows the influence of his father David Mellor, with whom he worked for many years, ‘Chelsea’ has its own striking individuality.
Embassy
Originally commissioned in 1963 by the British government for use in British embassies. Embassy cutlery shows characteristic flair in the highly original shaping of the knife handle and exceptional elegance of the 3-prong fork.
Paris
This is connoisseurs’ cutlery for people who appreciate fine dining and Paris has proved phenomenally popular since it was first introduced. The design is beautifully balanced with a hollow handled knife that feels perfect in the hand.
London
London is relatively weighty but still wonderfully elegant as well as good to hold. Mellor’s superb cutlery is beautifully sculpted, its subtleties accentuated by the silky matt finish and distinctive off-set maker’s mark.
City
City uses advanced constructional techniques in stainless steel to achieve its highly original sculptural form. The design was expertly developed to give a perfect balance in the hand.
Odeon
A very glamorous and sophisticated pattern suitable for the most modern of interiors. This cutlery, in top quality stainless steel with satin finish, has great simplicity of line. The knife, also available in black acetal resin, is particularly handsome and excellent to use.
Classic
An almost timeless pattern characterised by fine proportions and the precise detailing so typical of Mellor. Perfect in either modern or traditional settings. The understated shape is wonderfully classy.
Minimal
David Mellor’s Minimal cutlery is a master metalworker’s design for modern living. Its aesthetic purity has made it a firm favourite with designers and architects. The sculptural shaping and the weight of the satin polished metal give this cutlery a very luxurious feel.
Hoffmann
Hoffmann is a design of immense elegance and quality with conscious overtones of early 20th century Arts and Crafts metalwork design. New techniques of hot forging allow subtle gradations in shaping of the handle, culminating in the unique pear-drop ends.
Provençal Black
Exceptionally pleasant and practical to use. Knife blades are top grade stainless steel with high carbon content, ensuring a sharp cutting edge. Handles are acetal resin with brass rivets. Fruit spoon is a perfect size for desserts and ice cream.
Children’s
David Mellor’s children’s cutlery is ergonomically designed for ages 2-10, and just as well made as adult David Mellor cutlery.
Storage
We offer several cutlery storage solutions from the David Mellor Cutlery roll to the Oak and Walnut canteens.
Buy our cutlery ranges in the online store
Making David Mellor cutlery
David Mellor cutlery is manufactured in a unique purpose built factory designed by Sir Michael Hopkins. The circular factory has been described as a minor masterpiece of modern architecture and has received numerous important architectural and environmental awards, including the Financial Times Architecture at Work Award, RIBA National Award, Civic Trust Award, Campaign for the Protection of Rural England Award and the prestigious BBC Design Prize for the Environment.
David Mellor worked closely with the architect, Sir Michael Hopkins, to evolve a design which is highly functional and technologically advanced and which at the same time enhances its setting in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
The five acre site just outside of Hathersage, in the Peak National Park, was previously the village gas works erected in 1906-7 and the concrete foundations of the old circular gas holder provided the basis for the design of the factory.
The circular shape of the factory is perfectly suited the manufacture of cutlery allowing for a circular progression as processes anti-clockwise round the factory floor, moving from the cutting and manipulation of metals to semi-automatic grinding to hand finishing processes and then to the final stages of cleaning and packing.
The aim was to combine traditional materials with modern structural techniques resulting in a building that sits comfortably in its surrounding environment. The factory is constructed from natural stone and steel.
A thick stone rim runs around the perimeter of the building and from this rim the giant bicycle-wheel structure of the rood rises towards its central glass hub which allows natural light to flood the interior of the building. A steel perimeter tie bar holds the structure together.
The roof itself is built up of a series of double-skinned sectional panels in Finnish pine plywood hooking onto the circular purlins, this allows the building to be ventilated by the more or less traditional method of passage of air through the panels, and the exterior is leaded.
Working closely with the architects, David Mellor supervised the construction and manufacture of many of the components of the building. He and his workforce laid the huge circular concrete floor over the original gasometer slab. They cast the concrete quoins and padstones used in the walls, and constructed the 480 Finnish plywood roof panels of varying sizes.
Visit the factory on a guided tour which provides an overview of the company, buildings and how David Mellor cutlery is made. Tours are at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
