Studio William: Winners of 2012 National Flatware Design Competition Announced

A student from the Royal College of Art will see her dessert flatware design go on sale this summer thanks to an unique competition developed by leading UK Flatware Company, Studio William, in partnership with John Lewis.

Studio William Flatware has recently announced that Anabela Chan has won the competition to create innovative flatware that could enhance the experience of eating dessert with ‘Leaf’, a beautiful, yet functional piece. Chan was one of 54 students from four universities who entered the competition. In addition to receiving £2,000, her design will be manufactured by Studio William and sold exclusively in John Lewis stores across the UK.

The competition, called Sweet Instruments of Desire, was developed by Studio William to help inspire and support the next generation of designers to innovate and challenge conventional flatware. By working in partnership with John Lewis to bring the new design to the UK consumer market, Studio William Flatware has been able to offer a potentially life-changing prize to the winning student, as well as giving all entrants the opportunity to raise the profile of their work.

William Welch, chief executive of Studio William, said: “Excellent design and creativity is essential to the continued development of beautiful flatware if we are to keep pace with chefs and enable them to find more innovative ways of delivering food to diners. This competition was about giving students the opportunity and motivation to indulge their creativity while developing a functional piece. The standard of entries we received was incredibly high and the results speak for themselves.”

Louise Stuart Head of buying Cookware & Dining John Lewis said “Entertaining friends at home is growing in popularity and we’ve certainly seen an increase in the number of customers looking for something special when it comes to flatware. We are delighted to support this competition and look forward to stocking the new pieces when they are available later in the year.”

The Studio William Flatware UK Student Design Competition 2012, involved 4 Universities: Edinburgh College of Art & Design, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, The Royal College of Art, London. All entries will be eligible for inclusion in a national touring exhibition later this year.

Studio William and John Lewis congratulate and thank all the students who submitted entries to the competition

This divided tasting spoon that allows the two foods to not combine until in the guest’s mouth was a great example of an easy way to enhance the dining experience that we used in our presentation at this past March’s New York Show. In the above photo, you can see the size comparision to a U.S. quarter coin. You may remember the fantastic divided Studio William tasting spoon (they have an entire range of these) we used in our presentation on how to differentiate your tabletop at the New York Show in March. Studio William is known around the world for developing “sensory forms” to enhance the dining experience. These “forms” just happen to come in the form of flatware and cutlery.

Sponsoring this type of a design competition supports that philosophy and we want to add our congratulations to Anabela Chan and the team at Studio William. Well Done.

You can see the Studio William line of flatware for hospitality at the upcoming Chicago NRA Show by going by the Merchandise Connection Int’l booth # 5841

To go to the Studio William website, click here: http://www.studiowilliam.com/en/