David Mellor (1930-2009) trained as a silversmith at Sheffield College of Art (1946–8) and the Royal College of Art (1950–54). In 1954 he established a silversmithing workshop and studio in Sheffield and became a design consultant to the firm of Walker & Hall. It manufactured his earliest designs, including the ‘Pride’ range of electroplated silver cutlery (1953), the simple and elegant forms of which were inspired by 18th-century English cutlery. This was the first in a series of cutlery designs, for which he is best known (examples London, V&A; Goldsmiths’ Co.) and which received numerous Design Centre awards. In 1962 he became a Royal Designer for Industry. In 1963 the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works commissioned from him a range of silver cutlery and tableware for use in British embassies and in 1965 the minimalist ‘Thrift’ range of stainless steel cutlery, to be manufactured at low cost and used in government institutions. In 1975 he began to manufacture his own cutlery at Broom Hall, Sheffield, using innovative, highly mechanized methods; in 1988 production was transferred to a purpose-built factory, designed by Michael Hopkins (b 1935), at Hathersage, Derbys. Although Mellor concentrated on industrial design, including bus shelters (1960) and road traffic signals (1965–70) as well as cutlery, he continued to execute private commissions for the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London, and commercial organizations.

This cutlery service was awarded the C.O.I.D. (Council of Industrial Design, later the Design Council) prize of the year for 1957.