David Mellor’s Sheffield

There’s a real treat for fans of David Mellor next month with the opening of not one, but two exhibitions in the designer’s home town of Sheffield.

David Mellor's Symbol range
David Mellor’s Symbol range

Hot on the heels of the Street Scene exhibition at the David Mellor Design Museum (which opens on 8 September) is an exhibition at Sheffield Institute of the Arts which will focus on Mellor’s homeware work.

Pedestrian Signal Box 1965 - 1969
Pedestrian Signal Box 1965 – 1969

The Steel and Light exhibition, organised by Sheffield Hallam University, is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of Mellor’s seminal cutlery range Symbol, as well as the centenary of the invention of stainless steel in Sheffield.

Stainless steel kitchen knives designed by David Mellor in 2002
Stainless steel kitchen knives designed by David Mellor in 2002

The exhibition will use drawings, photographs, animations and film to tell the story of Mellor’s career. As well as his work on Symbol, the UK’s first purpose-designed stainless-steel cutlery, it will look at his other homeware work and projects such as the redesign of the UK’s traffic lights.

Mellor's Campden range, from 1956
Mellor’s Campden range, from 1956

The exhibition will also feature a walking map of David Mellor’s Sheffield, with visitors able to see some of his designs in situ and to visit some of the key places in the history of David Mellor Design.

The Transit folding trolley, from 1999
The Transit folding trolley, from 1999

David Mellor: Steel and Light, is at Sheffield Institute of the Arts Gallery, Sheffield Hallam University, 153 Arundel Street, Sheffield S1, from 27 September-3 November.

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