Project
Chantry Modern Sharpener
Client
Taylor's Eye Witness, UK
Production
2004 -
Ever since its invention in 1929, the Chantry, manufactured by Taylor's Eye Witness, has been one of the world’s most popular knife sharpeners. The design of its casing has been updated over the years, but the internal mechanism of two small butcher’s steels precisely angled and spring-loaded, to ensure that they sharpen the knife rather than grind it, has remained intact.
Industrial Facility was asked to ‘modernise’ the then current design, executed by the late Robert Welch, hence the name ‘Chantry Modern’. Welch’s design had a certain character, but he favoured the idea of the sharpener resembling a cooking object – rather than a machine.
Small alterations in size and weight were made to make the product stable enough not to require fixing to a table top. The advantages of the new design are numerous, but the most enduring feature is that the cook’s hand is now well away from the cutting area, resulting in a more safe and graceful product.
Awards
Design Plus Award, 2005
Permanent Collections
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt
State Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Munich
The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC)
Exhibitions
Import Export, British Council, travelling, 2004
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
Super Normal, London / Milan, 2009
Films
RETAIL FACILITY Chantry Modern Sharpener
Project
Wine Opener and Peg
Client
Muji, Japan
Production
2008 -
The Muji Wine Opener and Peg typifies Industrial Facility’s approach to standard, everyday products with a concern for matching basic needs with a comparitive degree of quality, design and price. The design used the concept of appropriation – simple acknowledgement of what is ‘close’ to the object, and appropriate in its dimension. The handle appropriates the diameter of the wine cork itself, and in so doing, becomes a comfortable place to store the foil cutter. This feature is not celebrated, merely hidden and suppressed, so as to not get in the way of its main job of removing corks.
The Wine Peg – produced a year later – adopts the same dimensions as the lower third of its brother the Wine Opener. The lever which is presented as a flat featureless bar that provides a satisfying surface for pressing.
Awards
Japan G-Mark Award, 2009
Permanent Collections
The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC)
Exhibitions
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
Turn, Twist and Branch Off, Aram Store, London, 2011
Table Items, Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), 2012
Project
Cutlery
Client
Taylor's Eye Witness
Production
2007 - 2009
In discussions with Alastair Fisher, director of Taylor's Eye Witness, the subject of low-cost cutlery sold in supermarkets was approached, which could best be described as poorly made pseudo-craft that uses mass-produced methods of production. The cheaper the cutlery, the more grandiose it tries to present itself. The conversation was extended with Muji Europe, who agreed to partner in the production of a low-cost everyday set of cutlery, similar in principle to the conditions of Mono Cutlery designed by Peter Raacke in Post War Germany, where resources were limited.
To do this, Industrial Facility set about looking into a very different direction – not to mimic quality, but to elevate the vernacular of disposable plastic cutlery.
The first experiment was to literally make a transfer of material in our workshop. The result of turning plastic cutlery into metal showed just how beautiful these unseen designs were. It was then a process of refining them, and editing the place setting down to four pieces – including a spork (a combination of a spoon and fork).
Permanent Collections
The Art Instutute of Chicago (AIC)
Design Museum London
Exhibitions
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
Extraordinary Stories about Ordinary Things, Design Museum London, 2012
Project
Jersey Dishes
Client
Jersey Pottery, Jersey
Production
2007 — 2011
The thinking of this design went along the lines of a set of dishes that acted as a ‘meal for two’. Starters, a main dish and dessert. The dishes nestled within the largest one, so making it very compact for storing. Each dish was made from hard paste porcelain and could withstand high and low temperatures. They could move directly from the freezer to the oven, and then to the dishwasher. In 2009, Jersey Pottery commissioned a graphical interpretation of their uses, with ‘Sweet’ and ‘Savoury’ versions being created.
Awards
Best Kitchen Product, Elle Decoration, 2008
Exhibitions
Eurocuccina, Milan, 2007
Films
International Sales
Project
Knife Rack
Client
Taylor's Eye Witness, UK
Production
2006 -
To accompany the IF4000 range of knives, a knife rack seemed a relevant product. But it needed a ‘useful but odd’ character which was very much the interpretation of the company itself.
The Knife Rack presents itself as a simple strip of wood mounted on a wall. When a knife is attached to it, the usfulness becomes visible. The product uses the strength of layered Bamboo in combination with five submerged magnets.
Awards
Design Plus Award, 2007
British Housewares Gold Award, 2007
Permanent Collections
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt
State Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Munich
Exhibitions
Found, Made, Thought, the Work of Industrial Facility, Israel Museum / British Council, 2006
Love & Money, Ozone Gallery, Tokyo, 2006
Films
International Sales
