Oliver Smith finds new forms for the knife, fork and spoon

Canberra-based silversmith uses collaboration with chefs to create cutlery

January 15th, 2008

Oliver Smith trained in Australia but used his four years travelling around the world, working with craftspeople through Europe, Mexico and New Zealand to inform his design objects.

Focusing on hammer techniques and, in particular, hot forging, Smith realised early in his career that this method of metal work was best suited to making cutlery.

He soon began to experiment with new forms, creating objects of beauty that did not form the traditional shape of a knife, fork or spoon but were perfectly formed for a new aesthetic and superior function. He also collaborated with chefs, such as restaurateur Anders Ousback and chef and restaurateur Tim Pak Poy in the ‘Banquet’ project, where they met monthly to discuss ideas over a meal.

His two ranges of cutlery, ‘Generation I’ and ‘Generation II’ were shown concurrently at the exhibitions Freestyle: New Australian Design for Living and Smart Works: Design and the Handmade in 2007.

Stockists: Collect (Sydney), metalab (Sydney), Workshop Bilk (Queanbeyan, NSW), X Gallery (Bungendore, NSW), National Design Centre (Melbourne) and FORM Contemporary Craft and Design (Perth)

oliversmith.com.au

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