Corin Mellor
Encyclopedia
Corin Mellor is a designer
specializing in furniture
and metalwork. Son of the famous cutlery designer David Mellor he succeeded his father on his retirement in 2002 as Creative Director of the family owned manufacturing
and retailing
company David Mellor Design.
and trained in product design at Kingston. He returned north to work alongside his father. The David Mellor cutlery
factory was at that time in Sheffield, moving to a new purpose designed building, the Round Building, at Hathersage
in Derbyshire
in 1990.
London
in 1969. He has responsibility both for the design of the interior and the product selection and has himself designed and developed special ranges of kitchen knives, ceramics and glass
, woodware and decorative accessories exclusive to the David Mellor shops. His latest cutlery design, named 'Chelsea' to commemorate the family's long connection with that area of London, was introduced in 2011.
Corin also designed the interior of the David Mellor Design Museum and Café at Hathersage in Derbyshire, working closely with the architect
Sir Michael Hopkins. The Museum
won a Countryside Award for its design excellence in 2007.
were for furniture. Corin Mellor’s public seating can be seen at the Lowry
Gallery in Salford Quays
, the Millennium
Galleries and Winter Garden
, Sheffield. He has recently completed a sculptural bench in galvanised steel and oak
for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth
.
In 2008 Corin Mellor was commissioned to make a large scale Advent Wreath
for Sheffield Cathedral
, a piece of metalwork comprising a mass of vertical rods in stainless steel
. From this developed a series of stainless steel candelabra
for domestic interiors using the same structure. These pieces were shortlisted for the Blueprint Design Award 2008. An exhibition
of Corin Mellor’s decorative metalwork was held at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
in 2009.
His latest architectural metalwork commission is a sculptural bridge link for the new Charles Street building for Sheffield Hallam University
. Current silversmithing projects include a large scale commission for a Middle Eastern royal family.
newspaper described them as 'the first family of design'. Corin’s mother is the biographer and critic
Fiona MacCarthy
. His sister, Clare Mellor, has her own graphic design
firm.
and a Freeman of the company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
.
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
specializing in furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
and metalwork. Son of the famous cutlery designer David Mellor he succeeded his father on his retirement in 2002 as Creative Director of the family owned manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
and retailing
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
company David Mellor Design.
Early life and training
Corin Mellor was born in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and trained in product design at Kingston. He returned north to work alongside his father. The David Mellor cutlery
Cutlery
Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
factory was at that time in Sheffield, moving to a new purpose designed building, the Round Building, at Hathersage
Hathersage
Hathersage is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. It lies on the north bank of the River Derwent, approximately 10 miles west of Sheffield...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in 1990.
David Mellor shops and Design Museum
Corin Mellor has been closely involved in the David Mellor shops, the first of which opened in Sloane SquareSloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1969. He has responsibility both for the design of the interior and the product selection and has himself designed and developed special ranges of kitchen knives, ceramics and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
, woodware and decorative accessories exclusive to the David Mellor shops. His latest cutlery design, named 'Chelsea' to commemorate the family's long connection with that area of London, was introduced in 2011.
Corin also designed the interior of the David Mellor Design Museum and Café at Hathersage in Derbyshire, working closely with the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Sir Michael Hopkins. The Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
won a Countryside Award for its design excellence in 2007.
Special commissions
His earliest design commissionsCommission (art)
In art, a commission is the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors.- Commissions for public art...
were for furniture. Corin Mellor’s public seating can be seen at the Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
Gallery in Salford Quays
Salford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
, the Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
Galleries and Winter Garden
Winter Garden
Winter Garden may refer to:* A winter garden, winter-hardy plants grown for winter interest and decoration, or to be harvested for food between winter and early spring.-Places:* Winter Garden, California, former community in Kern County...
, Sheffield. He has recently completed a sculptural bench in galvanised steel and oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth
Chatsworth
-Places:Australia* Chatsworth, Queensland* Electoral district of Chatsworth, Queensland, AustraliaCanada* Chatsworth, Ontario, a township* Chatsworth, Ontario , located within above townshipSouth Africa* Chatsworth, Durban* Chatsworth, Western Cape...
.
In 2008 Corin Mellor was commissioned to make a large scale Advent Wreath
Advent wreath
The Advent wreath, or Advent crown, is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western church...
for Sheffield Cathedral
Sheffield Cathedral
Sheffield Cathedral is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914...
, a piece of metalwork comprising a mass of vertical rods in stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
. From this developed a series of stainless steel candelabra
Candelabra
"Candelabra" is the traditional term for a set of multiple decorative candlesticks, each of which often holds a candle on each of multiple arms or branches connected to a column or pedestal...
for domestic interiors using the same structure. These pieces were shortlisted for the Blueprint Design Award 2008. An exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
of Corin Mellor’s decorative metalwork was held at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England is an open-air gallery showing work by UK and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth...
in 2009.
His latest architectural metalwork commission is a sculptural bridge link for the new Charles Street building for Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
. Current silversmithing projects include a large scale commission for a Middle Eastern royal family.
Family
He is married to the photographer Helen Mellor http://www.helen-mellor.com/ and they have two children. In April 2009 The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper described them as 'the first family of design'. Corin’s mother is the biographer and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
Fiona MacCarthy
Fiona MacCarthy
Fiona MacCarthy OBE is a British biographer and cultural historian best known for her studies of 19th and 20th century arts, crafts and design....
. His sister, Clare Mellor, has her own graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
firm.
Public appointments
Corin is a member of the Board of Museums Sheffield. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of GoldsmithsWorshipful Company of Goldsmiths
The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company, which has origins in the twelfth century, received a Royal Charter in 1327. It ranks fifth in the order of precedence of Livery Companies. Its motto is Justitia Virtutum Regina, Latin for Justice...
and a Freeman of the company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire is a trade guild of metalworkers based in Sheffield, England. It was incorporated in 1624 by an Act of parliament. The head is called the Master Cutler...
.