Jasmine Hemsley is a chef and author who thinks carefully about how she lives, and she and her partner Nick had spent two years wanting the right set of knives. The brief was clear: everyday use, British-made, distinct in style, and made from sustainable materials, to match a buy-it-once approach.
The set is eight blades, a honing steel and a matching magnetic rack in solid English walnut. The handles use three shades of Durat, a solid surface made from recycled waste that can itself be recycled, in lavender, white and dark grey. Some are layered with GF Smith paper for texture.
The lavender Durat has its own small history. It was left over from our work with 2LG Studio, so one collaboration quietly fed the next.
There is a belief behind the set worth stating plainly. A set should read as a set without every piece being identical. The relationship should be evident, not enforced. That is what we tried to build here.
Delivering it was memorable for other reasons. It remains the only time Laurie has been asked to meditate and sit through a sound bath while handing over a customer’s knives.
The collection has since come to an end. The thinking behind it stays: a set should be related, not identical.
In collaboration with Jasmine Hemsley.