David Mellor

David Mellor (1930-2009) was one of the most important British designers of the twentieth century, specializing above all in the creation of cutlery and kitchen accessories still produced by his eponymous brand. A native of Sheffield, the historic center of the English cutlery industry, David Mellor studied design at the Royal College of Art in London and soon became known as a young enfant prodige of English design: one of his most successful models, the Pride cutlery line (1951, entered into production in 1954) was designed when he was still a student and a few years later, in 1962, he had the honor of being the youngest person to be awarded the title of Royal Designer for Industry. In the following years, important government commissions led him to design the cutlery used in all the British embassies in the world (1963, “Embassy” line) or in many public canteens such as those of hospitals, armed forces and prisons (1965, “Thrift” line), with creations characterised by extreme simplicity and elegance. However, his activity was not limited to cutlery alone: in 1965 he was chosen by the Ministry of Transport as a consultant for the design of the new national model of traffic lights, still in use today. His works for public spaces also include bus shelters, lampposts and letterboxes. In 1969 he opened his first shop in London in Sloane Square, which is still considered a true city institution. A few years later, in 1973, he then decided to centralise all production in his own factories, built in Sheffield and then transferred in 1990 to a new building designed by Mellor himself in collaboration with the architect Michael Hopkins, the award-winning factory known as Round Building. His social collaborations with foreign companies are very rare: in particular, the one with the Italian brand Magis for the creation of the Transit trolley (1999). President of the Crafts Council, awarded the prestigious Order of the British Empire by the Queen and the subject of personal exhibitions at important museums, David finally decided in 2002 to retire and leave the business to his son Corin Mellor (1966-) who had already been working alongside him for several years.