CC41 Jugs

Designer: Trevor Duncan

Materials: Britannia Silver

“Although silversmiths were perhaps the original industrial designers, producing highly functional useful objects in beautiful materials, the industry has now mostly become confined to and concerned with the production of decorative or ceremonial objects. Inspired by a strongly held belief in the value of utility as the foundation for good design this project strives to bring back together the application of functional design with the industrial craft practice of the silversmith.

Design of the CC41 JUGS 1&2 draws heavily on early C20 oil cans found in industrial workshops that had very little to do with anything other than function – a fixed volume of 1 quart, a balanced handle gives them a status and integrity that transcends being simply tools fit for purpose and makes them beautiful objects.  To amplify the functional value of the design each jug is produced from 30oz of Britannia silver (purer and whiter than Sterling silver) and employs traditional manufacturing processes including hand forming, spinning, polishing and plating resulting in objects without obsolescence.”

These products were created as a result of an extensive investigation into how the use of narrative, design and industrial craft manufacture can be combined as methods by which the value and meaning of everyday, utilitarian products or ‘tools’ can be better understood as cultural touchstones that reconnect people with their physical environment and the objects in it.

This project explored the development and production of decorative or ceremonial objects, specifically the creation of two solid silver water jugs – CC41 JUGS 1&2, which were inspired by a strongly held belief in the value of utility as the foundation for good design.  This project strives to bring back together the application of functional design with the industrial craft practice of the silversmith, producing highly functional useful objects in beautiful materials. How can the juxtaposition of ‘use’ and materials question our understanding of integrity and functionality in products, production and in turn, our relationship with material culture?

Width: 80cm 
Height: 60cm 
Depth: 100cm