Cutlery King – David Mellor

We recently revisited the David Mellor Visitor Centre and Cutlery Factory at Hathersage, a fantastic place on the edge of the Peak District, 15 miles west of Sheffied.

I say revisit, well it was for me anyway, as I cycled there in the early 1990s to check out David Mellor’s iconic factory – the then newly finished Round Building designed by Michael Hopkins. Built on an old gasometer base using local gritstone, the fabulous roof and central lantern is constructed like a trussed ‘spoked wheel’

Everyday Magic

Vivid Grey is a newly launched homeware brand created by Interior Architect and Designer Sabine Fajana. Offering up a delightful range of modern heirloom furnishings, including handcrafted textiles and lighting, the collection has been designed with a home shared by both children and adults in mind.

A pattern in celebration of David Mellor’s ‘Chelsea’ salad servers by Kate Farley

When I got married we were lucky enough to receive a set of David Mellor cutlery as a wedding gift. It’s not ‘kept for best’, we enjoy using it every single day and it’s an ever present reminder of our wedding day and of all the special people we shared it with.

So when surface designer Kate Farley got in touch to share a preview of her latest design it made an instant connection with me. In discussion with Corin Mellor, Creative Director of David Mellor Design, Kate has developed a graphic pattern celebrating the shape and form of the ‘Chelsea’ salad servers that hints at the craft of cutlery production using the cut-out forms, as seen in Hathersage at The Round Building factory.

Kolarbyn: Wild Sweden

The strapline ‘Sweden’s most primitive hotel’ may not immediately ingratiate potential holiday makers with the eco-lodge Kolarbyn but there’s much to be said for shunning modern life in favour of a more primitive existence. The collection of charcoal burner’s huts in the Swedish forest takes you right back to basics with no electricity or even running water, just the trees, the lake and the quiet.

A new look for The Conran Shop’s Marylebone store

The Conran Shop has just unveiled a new look for its Marylebone Store. After redesigning the brand’s Chelsea store last year, Jasper Conran, who recently took over at the helm from his father Sir Terence Conran, has now focused on the Marylebone High Street store. When I visited at the weekend to attend a styling workshop with Gabby Deeming of House and Garden as part of Marylebone Interiors Day, the store was buzzing with a palpable new excitement and energy.

Abundance – Billy Lloyd at North House Gallery

Billy Lloyd is a young British ceramicist with a growing reputation. I admire his work a lot and featured his porcelain pitcher and bowl for The New Craftsmen on Design Hunter back in February. I also follow him with interest on Twitter, where he regularly shares sketches, work in progress shots and images from his studio, offering a unique insight into his working process. This month he unveils new work in an exhibition called Abundance at North House Gallery in Manningtree, which also includes still lifes by Susan Brinkhurst and a bold series of painted constructions and pastel works on paper by John Christie.

Destination: Trancoso, Brazil

 

by Francesca Muston

Brazil’s colourful and energetic aesthetic is beginning to make real waves in global design trends. Recently relaxed trade restrictions have opened up a rich source of design talent and cutting edge sustainability concepts which have been well-cultivated by and for the local market. The Olympics, the World Cup, designers moving out, international retailers moving in… Brazil is in the spotlight, but it’s changing, so now is the time to visit, before global trade homogenises the intensity of the indigenous design.