For Dennis

A reflection upon the time I spent working for Dennis Black, a former Sheffield steel worker, as his cleaner in the late stages of his life.

For Dennis Collection

9" Diameter Plate £45

Bread Knife £75, Butter Knife £55

Bread Bin £325

Butter Dish £175

Butter Dish £175, Butter Knife £55

A red brick house with strong blue trim decorated with anaglypta wallpaper, faded floral carpets, net curtains and carefully displayed trinkets, walking into Dennis’s house was like taking a step into the past. He told great stories of his family and a life working in the steel industry. While I knew Dennis he lived to honour the promise he made to his wife’s father when she moved to Sheffield from Wales to always look after her.

Consisting of a bread bin, butter dish, butter and bread knives and 9 inch plate the collection is a celebration of a self-contained family life. A life spent providing for and taking care of each other through industrial and domestic work with the kitchen table at the heart of the home.
The pieces are designed for everyday use. Relatively simple in form, they draw inspiration from pieces of industrial structure and the décor of the home that Dennis and his wife created together. The surfaces of the pieces celebrate a harmony between two very contrasting veins of hard work undertaken in the steel industry and the home to take care of each other and bring up a family.