Designing the Robert Welch way

For over 50 years, within a few modest rooms in the 18th century

Silk Mill at Chipping Campden in England’s Cotswold hills,

a small team of people has created 3,418 individual new products,

leading to sales of over 46 million items around the world.

This is how it came about.

In 1955, fresh from the Royal College of Art, Robert Welch

was looking to set up a studio somewhere between his parents’

home in Malvern and London, where he might find work.

He rented a small room in the Old Silk Mill and installed his

drawing board and a truckle bed.

It was an inauspicious star t for a man whose strong design

principles would later make him an MBE and a Royal Designer

for Industry.

Being an enthusiastic cricketer, Robert Welch believed in the close-

working efficiency of small teams.

He called upon the complementary skills of designers, prototype

makers and manufacturers to help realise Robert Welch designs.

Most notably, John Limbrey (top left) worked closely with

Robert Welch for over 40 years until Robert’s death in 2000, and

Robert’s son Rupert and daughter Alice (bottom right pictures)

have been responsible for the company’s direction since 1993.

Each new Robert Welch product is evolved from rigorous

questioning about its function, manufacture, durability and

ease of use.

The pictures opposite show some of this process during

the creation of the Robert Welch Signature knife range.

What will the knife be used to cut?

Each use might require a different edge,

blade design or even a different knife.

Who will use it?

Different chefs around the world will have

varying requirements from a knife.

Can it be strong with a razor-sharp edge?

Robustness, edge durability and sharpness can

be increased by precision engineering.

Will the design last as long as the knife?

Robert Welch designers aim for a ‘timeless

beauty’ rather than follow fashion.

One of the simplest ways to understand what people want

from a new product is to meet them.

For this reason, since 1969 Robert Welch has had a shop

in Chipping Campden, only a hundred yards or so from

the Old Silk Mill where the products are created by the

Robert Welch designers.

The Robert Welch range of products is remarkably extensive.

Even more remarkable is the fact that, unlike other design companies,

none of the products are bought in or created by outside designers.

Every item, large or small, has been created by the Robert Welch

Design Team in Chipping Campden in the same building where

Robert Welch star ted all those years ago.

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No 10 Downing Street All India Handicrafts BoardAsprey@home, South AfricaAtlantis, DubaiBalliol College, OxfordBed, Bath & Beyond, USABellagio, Las VegasBirmingham Assay OfficeBirmingham UniversityBloomingdales, USABOAC (British Airways)British Embassy, ManilaBritish Embassy, RiyadhBritish MuseumBritish RailBrown Thomas, IrelandBurj Al Arab, DubaiCanterbury CathedralCarl Prinz, GermanyChapel of Gordonstoun SchoolChristiania GlasMagasin, Norway Churchill College, CambridgeCourvoisierCrate & Barrel, USASir Winston ChurchillDavid Jones, AustraliaEurostar

Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeChristina Foyle, Foyle’s BookshopGeorg JensenGKNGlaxoGoldsmiths’ HallGuinnessHarrison FisherHeal’sHE Lauffer, USAHighland CraftpointHRH The Duke of EdinburghIronbridge Gorge MuseumJohn LewisAlexey Kosygin, Leader, Soviet UnionLane Crawford, Hong KongLibertyLumitronMacy’s, USAMirage, Las VegasCol EM MorrisonCountess Mountbatten of BurmaThe Museum of Modern Art, USAMyer, AustraliaNK, SwedenOld HallOne & Only HotelsOrient Line/SS Oriana

P&OPrestigeJB PriestleyRoyal DoultonRoyal Institute of British ArchitectsRoyal Society of ArtsRutgers University, USASt John’s College, CambridgeSamuel Groves of BirminghamSelfridgesSmithsonian Institution, USA Starwood HotelsThe Silver TrustTower of LondonVictoria and Albert MuseumVirgin AtlanticW HotelsWestcloxWestin Hotels Williams Sonoma, USASir David WilsonHarold WilsonWorcester College, OxfordWorshipful Company of Furniture MakersWorshipful Company of GoldsmithsWynn Hotels Yamazaki

Some customers and owners of Robert Welch designs

www.rober twelch.com

Robert Welch Designs Ltd, Lower High Street, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6DY, UK. T: +44 (0)1386 840522 E: sales@welch.co.uk

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