August/September 2026
housewareslive.net
THE HOUSEWARES INTERVIEW “We keep an eye on the world of design and attend exhibitions
throughout the year,” Mr deBretton Gordon explains. “We’re of course aware of short-term or fashion trends, but our whole ethos is timeless design. “We prefer designs with classic appeal, but with the Robert Welch
twist.”
And that makes a whole lot of sense for a premium brand. If somebody is spending more on a product, there’s an expectation that it won’t suddenly look dated in a couple of years.
Where does an idea start?
So, if you’re not chasing the latest trend, where does a new design actually come from? According to Mr deBretton Gordon, pretty much anywhere. “We listen closely to our customers’ feedback as they are often very emotionally invested in our designs,” he says. “Inspiration can come from anywhere, very often from entirely
unrelated objects, architecture or even nature.” Whatever sparks the initial idea, there is one thing that can’t be
forgotten: these are products that people will be using everyday, and often multiple times everyday. And a knife should look fantastic, but it also needs to feel right in the hands of a conusmer. The same goes for a fork, a saucepan or anything else that ends up being used day after day. “It’s the job of a designer to create visually appealing products,” Mr
deBretton Gordon says. “At Robert Welch, function and usability is just as important - they go hand in hand.” That balance between the two is probably one of the reasons the
was how consistent everything feels. Pick up a fork and there’s a certain weight to it. The balance of a knife
feels deliberate. Even the shape and proportions of a handle have clearly been thought about. The Robert Welch Palm Bright cutlery is a good example.. It’s contemporary, but there isn’t anything about it that immediately ties it to a particular trend or moment in time. And that’s really the point. Robert Welch isn’t designing something to look good for the next 12 months. The idea is that you’ll still want to use it many years down the line.
A design legacy
Someone who knows that philosophy better than most is Paul deBretton Gordon, Design Director at Robert Welch, who has been with the company for more than 20 years. “I graduated from university in the early 90s and worked as a freelance designer for several years before joining the Wedgwood Group, where I was a Shape Designer, before I arrived at Robert Welch,” he explains. He joined a company with a pretty formidable design history behind it. Robert Welch himself, was a trained silversmith and designer whose work stretched far beyond cutlery. Over his career he designed tableware, lighting and clocks, alongside a number of larger commissions. Today the company remains family owned and is jointly led by his
children, Alice and Rupert Welch. That history inevitably brings a certain amount of responsibility for
anyone designing the next Robert Welch product. You want to move the brand forward, but not so far that you lose what made it recognisable in the first place. “It was important to me when I joined the company that it didn’t look
like there was a new designer at the helm,” Mr deBretton Gordon says. “Working closely with Robert’s children, Rupert and Alice, ensured we
kept the look and timeless classic design, done the Robert Welch way.” It is something you notice when looking across the different ranges in the shop. They don’t all look the same, nor should they, but there is a connection between them.
And that same thinking applies when it comes to trends. The premium difference
That also raises an important question for retailers: what actually makes a premium product stand out? With consumers able to compare hundreds of products and prices online within seconds, there needs to be a reason why they should spend more. For Mr deBretton Gordon, some of that comes down to the product being able to speak for itself.
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brand has been able to maintain its position for so long. Consumers might change, kitchens certainly change and new trends come along all the time, but people still expect a premium product to feel like a premium product. “Our customers have always demanded thoughtfully designed, beautiful products, whether they’re looking for cutlery or kitchen knives,” Mr deBretton Gordon says. “We try to remain true to Robert Welch’s legacy of timeless design - beautifully crafted products that stand the test of time.”
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