The perfect cup?

Steelite has ensured that wherever possible, all cups and saucers in new ranges have the same specifications as those going back over thirty years.

need to view trends from a longterm perspective. Just because one chef is doing something differently, does not make it a trend. I realise that buying Steelite product is an investment, a tool which the restaurant operator uses to make a profit. That tool needs to be effective for a long time, which is why I engage mainly with long-term trends that I believe will have staying power. The trick is to recognise these as they emerge and then capitalise on them by developing product that best defines those trends for the long term.

I often ask creatives about form versus function and for the most part, they say both play an aspect in the creation of collections – but when you are designing for a working environment such as a restaurant, function must come before whether something looks appealing or not?

I believe functionality and visual appeal go hand in hand. To me, they are equally important. A lot of time and development goes into engineering the product so that it functions much better than would be expected, and this may be done through small adjustments and additions to the product that the end user does not notice but make a huge difference to the back of house efficiencies for the operator. Visual appeal is the element that allows the chef to maximise the perceived value of their creations, and therefore maximise the amount the operator is able to charge for it. I take great pains to optimise things like glaze colour, for example, to optimise the positive effects on the food presented, and also to ensure that each new glaze colour is food-friendly and is backwards compatible with other glazes and patterns in our ranges to ensure an overall coherent offer. The trick is to combine ultimate ease of use with outstanding food presentation appeal that keeps the consumer coming back for more. substrates and aesthetics to provide choice for the operator.

Further to that, talk to us a little about enhancing the functionality of pieces – is that learned through trial and error? Steelite is focused solely on the hospitality sector, so obviously over the decades we have been in business, we have learned an awful lot about the industry: its needs, mechanisms and aspirations. Sometimes an operator highlights a problem that we might not have been aware of. This could be in association with how they use our product, or the unique environment it’s used in. This offers us an opportunity to investigate, adapt, and evolve new designs to overcome the issue. This can then be built into future products as a general improvement that everyone benefits from.

In addition, if an operator requires something unique to them, we offer a bespoke service which is available across many of our brands, from simple badge and band decorations and hand painted effects to state-of-theart printed designs from William Edwards fine bone china, which enhances the tables of some of diverse, and we aim to provide solutions to everyone from a busy canteen to the highest peak of Michelin-style dining. However, I believe that the same degree of design integrity should be present at all levels of product development, from the humble teaspoon to a statement presentation piece. It takes just as much development resource to design a product badly as it does

All design is ultimately about problem-solving. We aim to enable an operator to overcome the problem of how to create the ultimate dining experience for their customers. Steelite is wholly focused on this, and it’s why we constantly design and develop new ranges across many the world’s best restaurants. We can also provide custom shapes across many substrates, subject to minimum order quantities.

What are the most common issues you face when designing collections? What are the key demands from the sector?

The hospitality sector is massively to do it well. The same goes for copying… what the hospitality sector is most hungry for is innovation. True innovation, not a copy of someone else’s.

Quite often, the biggest issue is timing. That is to say that we mostly work to develop products to launch when the market is most ready to accept them. Sometimes, though, we will have a product ready to launch, that marketing and design know is a winner, but the sales team just cannot see it, because it currently isn’t relevant to them in their marketplace. maximising food presentation to the delight of the consumer.

In other words, we are a bit too early with new innovation and this timing is actually detrimental to the perception of it. The Craft range was a great example of this. After launch, it took a while in some markets to find traction, although, in other markets, it enjoyed immediate success. Of course, it went on to be one of the biggest-selling tableware ranges in the world (if not the biggest). And still is.

Latterly, Instagram has a huge effect in driving the importance of visually effective tableware. This also adds value to the operator through social media exposure and influencer endorsement.

Similarly, how do you design for brand enhancement? What does that entail?

I have always believed that a factory should make things that are of its time and within its unique capabilities. Effectively, that equates with having a ‘house style’, ‘voice’ or ‘signature’. At Steelite, this has

Expand a little on the idea of adding value through design – what does ‘value’ look like to you and to your clients?

Designing for hospitality is very different to designing for retail. In hospitality, tableware choice is about providing the tools for a chef to showcase his skills, thereby exciting a consumer and by extension, enabling an operator to make a profit. Value is added through functional efficiencies gained in the kitchen and in getting the food to the table, alongside the provision of visually been achieved through careful curation of owned branded ranges and how they integrate with the brands that we partner with. One example of this is how we strive to make many new ranges, within the Steelite brand especially, backwardscompatible with older ones. This has the effect of broadening the reach and appeal of new ranges, whilst offering the opportunity to update older ones, lengthening the period of their relevance. Of course, this is only possible if the shapes are compatible with each other. For an example of how far we take this, we have ensured that wherever possible, all cups and saucers in new ranges have the same specifications as those going back over thirty years. This ensures compatibility both now, and in the future, and means that ranges can be mixed freely, enabling an operator to tailor their suite of tableware to their preference or budget.

Finally, which Steelite collection has proven to be the most challenging to design and why?

I never set out to create a challenging design on purpose. In fact, I avoid it. Everything is carefully considered at the outset: target market, price point, item range definition, performance specification and projected expected sales volumes. With these in place, we can select an appropriate factory and then design to what we understand are that factory’s capabilities. Often a design direction presents itself through what that factory is particularly good at. It might be embossments, glaze effects or pressure casting for example.

The creative development element is therefore given parameters within which to explore, and a new solution often comes out of what isn’t possible. The old saying is true: ‘necessity is the mother of invention’.

This gives us a basis for true innovation, which is then developed and curated to ensure maximum product relevance and market appeal. As I always say to the Steelite sales team: “my job is to make your job as easy as possible”.

See Steelite at Ambiente – Hall 11.0, Stand C51.

The experts at Pantone have announced viva magenta as the 2023 Colour of the Year – a shade they say, “vibrates with vim and vigour”. If that’s not a ringing endorsement of a colour, I don’t know what is. The problem, if there is one, with magenta is that it is hard to pin down – deriving from the red family it reaches toward pink and maybe even kisses purple. The people at Pantone describe it most accurately when they call it “a nuanced crimson red tone that presents a balance between warm and cool, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta is also a hybrid colour, one that comfortably straddles the physical and virtual in our multi-dimensional world. It is assertive, but not aggressive, a carmine red that does not boldly dominate but instead takes a “fist in a velvet glove” approach. Exuding dynamism, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta is a transformative red tone capable of driving design to create a more positive future.”

Pantone’s passion for colour is admirable – but how does the colour-