Iconic David Mellor designs available in print from Lane
Tuesday 17th January
Some of the most iconic designs that influenced Britain’s post-war creative industry are available from Lane as prints to celebrate the seminal career of David Mellor CBE, Royal Designer for Industry.
David Mellor is one of the few British creative leaders to have successfully combined the skills of a visionary designer, brilliant craftsman and retailer in a career that has spanned more than half a century. Today, his British manufactured cutlery remains a cornerstone of the UK’s creative success story, while his 1966 design for a National Traffic Light can be found on every High Street.
To mark the 40th anniversary of his world famous Sloane Square kitchenware shop in 2009, David Mellor Design has collaborated with designers Joff and Ollie to produce a series of limited edition prints marking key moments in a prolific career.
Minimal Cutlery (2003)
David Mellor’s career is an example to many designers and businesses. As well as being a widely commissioned designer, he was a skilled Silversmith and successful entrepreneur, building his own retail and manufacturing facilities for his world renowned cutlery designs.
As well as designing and making ranges of high quality domestic cutlery, he also designed cutlery for the British Embassy and for the British Government – standard cutlery for offices, canteens, hospitals, prisons and British Rail.
‘Minimal 2003’ is probably David’s most innovative cutlery design and a testament to his creative drive coming 50 years after his first cutlery design ‘Pride’, that gained him recognition whilst at the Royal College of Art, London.
700 Series Chair (1975)
A tubular steel and mesh outdoor chair which won the coveted Design Council Award in 1975. The chair was originally designed for Abacus, a company based in Sutton in Ashfield, who were also responsible for commissioning much of David Mellor’s early street furniture designs.
Despite critical acclaim – the chair – due to its high production cost, never really made mass production and remains one of the rarest pieces of modernist British design today.
Embassy Tea Pot (1963)
Part of a Government commission for silverware for British Embassies around the globe.
The Embassy Teapot is one of Mellor’s rarest designs and one of the most iconic. Its pure, functional and reductive aesthetic results in a beautiful and elegant teapot.
