David Mellor, the designer and producer of high-end cutlery and a major entrepreneur of the CNC machining trade, has passed away aged 78, it has been reported.

Mr Mellor produced stainless steel table sets for hospitals, government canteens and prisons, with one of his landmark cutlery works - a 1970s sterling silver range - being on permanent display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the heart of London, the Telegraph revealed in an obituary.

His ethos followed the idea that a designer's function was to control the product they created from conceptualisation to consumer, establishing a precision engineering precedent which landed him as a finalist for the Prince Philip design award.

Mr Mellor preferred to use machining techniques as opposed to handwork as technology developed, the newspaper added, though he was not without other developments to his name, including the automatic half-barrier level crossings on train lines and a new and brighter traffic light system still in use today.

David Mellor Designs still trades, with a flagship store being based in the capital's Sloane Square and the workshop sitting in the heartland of stainless steel, Sheffield.


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