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In celebration of its design legacy and British heritage, Robert Welch Designs has reproduced its Campden toast rack – originally designed by founder Robert Welch in 1956 – to mark the product’s 60th anniversary.
Made by craftsmen in Sheffield using local stainless steel, the re-issued toast rack is numbered and produced as a limited edition and presented in a replicate of its original packaging. There are only 600 available, retailing at £40 each.
The Campden toast rack was Robert’s first award-winning product. Inspired by his sensitivity for form and function, the Campden range was an early success because, rather than designing silverware made in stainless steel, Robert Welch created objects which appeared as they were – an approach that was seen as new and modern for that era
In 1957 the product won the conveted CoID (Council of Industrial Design) award, presented by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. It was praised for its “elegant and ingenious construction” and noted as “a good step forward in an industry in which the imitating of older forms in other materials has been more common than original thinking”. In 1958, the toast rack was included in the council’s annual Design of the Year exhibition, and remained in manufacture – in both its four and six-slice options – until 1982.
Housewares supplier Robert Welch Designs (https://www.robertwelch.com/) specialises in cutlery, kitchen knives, utensils and tableware. Still family-run, the company is now an international brand with an extensive range of products including award-winning Signature kitchen knives and over 30 cutlery designs.
Campden stainless steel toast rack by Robert Welch
