25% Off Studio William and Embracing the Unexpected in Copenhagen

Well, we got to Copenhagen (Kobenhavn), had a really great time there, thus proving Simon wrong (see my last week’s email) but why oh why do we completely misspell the wretched names all over the place? I mean, I got there and saw Kobenhavn and wondered if I’d landed in the wrong place. Turns out we can’t even spell Danmark correctly either. What must the Danes (clue’s in the name) think of us…bunch of illiterate imperialists!                                

So, we did The Glyptotec, the art museum whose collection represents the private art collection of Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries…. had an exceptional chocolate cake there and really excellent coffee. The art was also good.

Sometime after, we visited Hay House, a design house of mouth wateringly, lovely, contemporary Scandinavian design. On the Sunday we visited the Design Museum in Copenhagen and The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, which was an interesting, if a slightly challenging mixed bag, compensated for by a half hour double decker train ride…..very enjoyable!

We ate in three very different restaurants that we’d booked in advance. I should say that we were staying in a B&B in Christiania, the hippy end of town. Being Danish though, their idea of hippy is still very neat, tidy and respectable, apart from one street we walked down looking for our restaurant, which I’ve since learnt is famous for its open trade of cannabis, lit only by the glow of a number of braziers that the drug sellers had to keep themselves warm. Turns out that this trade is illegal in Denmark. Passing up the opportunity to get high we eventually found our food, a restaurant called Spiseloppen, (that Google translates as “The Eating Flea”) up dimly lit stairs that were covered in graffiti.

I recall wondering, as we traipsed up two floors, what we would find at the top, so it was something of a surprise when got there to find a quite a normal restaurant, full of relatively normal people.  It was a good start to the weekend as the people were very friendly, the food was good (rather than outstanding…could have been hotter…the plates were cold!) but for me, the atmosphere more than made up for it.  The following night we treated ourselves to a 6 course taster menu at “Marv and Bens”. Superb food, but the personal touch was missing compared to the previous evening and it was, naturally, a slightly obscene price.

The following and final evening we visited Det Lille Apotek, the oldest restaurant in Kobenhavn, food ok and service very friendly. On reflection the Spiseloppen was my favourite out of the three…. give me great and friendly service and it covers a multitude of sins…

Ok, enough pleasant reminiscing, now it’s time to do some serious flogging of pots and pans - or in this case, cutlery.

Studio William
Now, if you’re feeling flush and in need of some new cutlery, have I got a treat for you, because we have just received our first delivery, from Studio William, of four delicious designs that are just crying out to be admired and used (day in and day out).

Studio William was started by William Welch, one of Robert Welch’s* sons about twenty years ago, and like Robert Welch, I’ve admired his designs for many years. On seeing Dan Flower, who markets the brand, at the Index trade show a few weeks ago (see my email from …..), I made a snap decision to take the plunge and the result is that we now have 4 designs in stock of their 24 piece and 42 piece sets.

A part of the beauty of William’s designs is the trouble he goes to over quality of the end product, with every piece going through approximately 45 processes from start to finish. To put this in some sort of context, even Le Creuset’s cast iron only goes through just over 30 processes, so 45 seems like an awful lot!

So yes, this is an impressive list, and the one that particularly caught my eye was the way they manufacture the tines (prongs) of the forks. If you look at most forks and in particular the tines, you will probably see machine marks on the “inside” of each tine. Not so with this manufacturer. Here they remove and polish, even this rather inaccessible surface. This is the sort of attention to detail that floats my boat, sad git that I am….. I just love it! In discussing this with Paul just now, I described that on picking it up, I noticed two things. Firstly weight and secondly flow. The comfort and weight immediately says that I have quality in my hand. There are no sharp corners, there are no quick transitions from one angle to another. The flow from handle to blade is beautifully resolved. Couple that with the thought that goes into his design** and you have cutlery that is really quite exquisite. And it’s dishwasher safe.  

Examples of his works can be found in the V&A Museum, The London Design Museum, Red Dot Design Museum (Germany), The Mak Museum Vienna, The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Design and Architecture, and he’s got more awards for design that you can shake a stick at.

 
* Robert Welch, industrial designer and one of our other major knife and cutlery suppliers

**All his cutlery is inspired by trees, Tilia (Lime Tree), Karri (a type of Eucalyptus), Olive, and Mulberry.
 

 The designs I’ve chosen to delight you with are as follows:

·       Tilia Satin finish 24 Piece Set (also available to order in Mirror)

·       Tilia Satin finish 42 Piece Set (also available to order in Mirror)

The Story:  The simplicity of the clean flowing form makes Tilia a very elegant and sophisticated pattern. A hybrid by nature and by design, Tilia combines angular and organic forms.

·       Karri Mirror 24 Piece Set

·       Karri Mirror 42 Piece Set

Design Inspiration:  Karri’s minimal straight appearance is both confident and innovative. The heavy gauged steel of the forks and spoons give beautiful weight and balance. The standing-up knife blade is sleek, with no traditional bolster, a gorgeous seamless transition from handle to blade. It is very comfortable to hold and use.

·       Olive Satin Finish 24 Piece Set (also available to order in Mirror)

·       Olive Satin Finish 42 Piece Set (also available to order in Mirror)

Design inspiration: Olive uses beautifully refined asymmetric lines that challenge the appearance of traditional cutlery and brings personality to the dining table. The design was inspired by the gnarly nature of olive trees forming around their environment.

Mulberry Mirror 24 Piece Set (also available to order in Silver Plate)

·       Mulberry Mirror 42 Piece Set (also available to order in Silver Plate) - arriving in April

Fact: Found at the Prime Minister’s residence at Nº 10 Downing Street, Mulberry was chosen to represent excellence in British design and is used by visiting diplomats and states people.

These ranges are not cheap, they are not even mid-priced (in my world!), they are expensive. They range from £220 to £235 for the 24 piece sets and between £415 and £435 for the 42 piece sets. To persuade you that you should part with your money for one (or more) of these beautiful icons of British Design, I’m offering you 25% off this weekend.

Please use code STUDIOW24 if shopping online and, as usual, just tell us who you are if coming into Reigate or Cobham shops.

Shop The Studio William Collection

That’s it for this week. I’ll leave the last word to Simon Sinek.

“Most of us lives our lives by accident – we live it as it happens. Fulfilment comes when we live our lives on purpose.”

Worthy of some thought, and even change maybe?

I’m off to Liverpool this weekend to see Jim and Babs, my brother and sister-in-law, where doubtless I will be fed well, looked after well and will return at some point Monday, refreshed.

I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.

Warm regards,

Andrew

Andrew Bluett-Duncan

Director