FAMILY, friends, and esteemed contemporaries gathered in Sheffield last night to remember the great craftsman and designer David Mellor.
Hymns, praise and admiration filled a packed Sheffield Cathedral in honour of a true Steel City man, who died in May aged 78.
During a remarkable career David Mellor CBE became known as one of the country's foremost designers, and was dubbed "the cutlery king".
Born in Stannington View Road in Crookes in 1930, the son of a toolmaker, he had designed and made his first set of spoons by the age of 15. Later, as a student at the Royal College of Art in London, he designed an award-winning cutlery line that went straight into production.
But, as arts writer and broadcaster Paul Allen told last night's congregation: "Something drew him back to Sheffield, when the world was at his feet. He needed to make things, and to live where they were made."
The craftsman returned to his home city to set up studios in Eyre Street in the city centre, and then in Broomhall, and finally built his celebrated Round Building in Hathersage.
During his career he made not only cutlery but many other works that still have an impact on the everyday lives of people across the country. In the 1960s his designs for traffic lights, bus shelters and street lamps were installed across Britain, and he was commissioned by then postmaster-general, Tony Benn, to design new red post boxes.
Some of his creations were on display in Sheffield Cathedral last night - an elegant silver and rosewood altar cross and candlesticks, and a processional cross and alms dish usually displayed in the Holy Cross Church in Gleadless.
The service was attended by family including David's widow the art historian and biographer Fiona MacCarthy, his designer son Corin who now runs the family firm, and Corin's wife Helen, a photographer. David's daughter Clare is a graphic designer.
Prebendary Kenneth Bowler, a friend for more than 40 years, said David "spiritually inspired countless people with his craft, turning houses and hospitals into religious spaces".
And Paul Allen said David was not only a successful businessman but someone fiercely proud of his aesthetic principles. He once turned down an order to design silverware for Downing Street because he did not agree with the overly decorative cutlery they wanted.
He said: "David was a master metal worker - an independent man confident not only in his mastery of the trade but the aesthetic that went with it.
"He was truly - to use the Sheffield version of that word - a mester."
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