William Welch (designer)

William Leonard Welch (born 2 April 1972) is an English Industrial designer. William is the son of the late post-war Industrial Designer Robert Radford Welch (21 May 1929 – 15 March 2000). In 2004 Welch became a Fellow of Chartered Society of Designs. In 2007 Welch was invited to become Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and as a Freeman, holds a key to the city of London.
Early life and training.
William Welch was born in Leamington Spa and raised in nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. From 1995, he studied design at the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University) where he completed courses in Furniture Design and Silversmithing, before going on to complete his Master of Arts Degree at The Royal College of Art, London in 2001.
(1995–1997) Welch also worked for Pentagram Design London as a junior designer under practice partner Kenneth Grange, and later worked in the same design consultancy for Daniel Wiel (1997–1999).
Through completing a research and development project, designing for people with physical disabilities at The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Welch created cutlery for people with physical disabilities called "Adaptable Cutlery", which changed shape to accommodate the user’s physical abilities. This gained the graduating year’s top Helen Hamlyn Award for Design in 2001, The Lord Snowdon Award. The Adaptable Cutlery was also a category award winner for the Peugeot/Oxo Design Awards in 2002, and was crowned overall winner of all ten design categories, securing prize money of £16,000.
(2001–2005) Following the death of his father, William was appointed Company Director at Robert Welch Designs Ltd. Employed as a Design Director, William worked alongside his brother Rupert, until breaking away from the company and launching Studio William Cutlery in 2005.
Silversmithing.
Welch worked as an apprentice at his late father’s studio and workshop, studying design and silversmithing under his father and also Silversmith and model maker John Limbery. Welch completed his Silversmithing training focusing his Master of Arts Degree towards mass-production and industrial design at The Royal College of Art, London.
Cutlery designs.
Studio William's cutlery designs are on display in permanent museum collections worldwide including the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, Chicago, and the RedDot Museum in Essen, Germany. Studio William's designs are also displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, where selected cutlery ranges accompanied the Sweet Instruments of Desire competition exhibition, set by Studio William in partnership with John Lewis. As part of the design brief students from the Royal College of Art, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University and the Edinburgh College of Art were invited to submit work that explored and challenged the traditional orthodoxy that surrounds the dessert course of a meal, with the winning design being manufactured by Studio William, and sold in John Lewis department stores across the country.
Public work, awards and honours.
William Welch has been frequently recognised for his outstanding work and innovative designs. Studio William Cutlery has also been recognised internationally as a leading supplier of premium cutlery, and has been the recipient of numerous awards. These accolades include:
Alongside these awards, Welch’s cutlery designs are on display in permanent museum collections worldwide, including:
At the V&A, selected cutlery ranges accompanied the Sweet Instruments of Desire competition exhibition, launched by Studio William in partnership with British high-street retailer, John Lewis. As part of the design brief students from the Royal College of Art, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University and the Edinburgh College of Art, were invited to submit work that explored and challenged the traditional orthodoxy that surrounds the dessert course of a meal. The winning design was manufactured by Studio William and sold in John Lewis stores across the country.
Charity work.
William supports a number of charities through both in person and through business activities.