9 decades of silver service; FAMILY: Spoon maker keeps drop hammer tradition alive.Byline: By Poppy Brady HE may not have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but as one of the last spoon makers in Birmingham Craig Robathan certainly knows how to make them. Walking into his press room in Hockley is like stepping back in time as he still uses the same huge drop hammers and steel dies used by his great grandfather Noun 1. great grandfather - a father of your grandparent great grandparent - a parent of your grandparent , Charlie Robathan, back in 1918. Anyone who has a souvenir spoon Also known as "Location Spoon" A souvenir spoon is a decorative spoon used to signify or hold a memory of a place or event, or to display as a 'trophy' of having been there, thus also a classical memento from pilgrimage sites; they are often in more fancy materials with a town crest lying in their cutlery cutlery, various types of implements for cutting, preparing, and eating food. In addition to different kinds of knives and the steels to sharpen them, the term usually encompasses forks and spoons. drawer, the chances are it was probably made by C Robathan and Sons - a family business spanning more than four generations. And it has stood the test of time to defy cheap imports and carve out a niche market A niche market also known as a target market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. at the top of the cutlery world that demands quality manufacturing. Great grandfather Charlie launched the business from a shed at the back of his tiny terrace house in Villa Street, where his 12 children were a ready source of labour. "He used to joke that the way to tell a good drop stamper was how many fingers they had missing," said Craig, aged 36, who admits to losing the tip of one finger. "Needless to say he'd lost a finger up to the knuckle knuckle /knuck·le/ (nuk´'l) the dorsal aspect of any phalangeal joint, or any similarly bent structure. knuck·le n. 1. . The drop hammer comes down with a ten tonne force and your fingers are literally millimetres away." Craig took over from his dad David, who inherited the business from his own father William, Charlie's son. With the help of longstanding employee Andrew Savva, Craig is still making more than 100,000 spoons a year at their factory in Hunter's Vale. He said: "I've always been fascinated by the job and I was involved from a small child. When I left school at 16 I came straight here after my exams and I still love it. "You name it and we've made spoons for it. We made hundreds for a planned visit to Birmingham from Pope John Paul Pope John Paul is the name of two Popes of the Roman Catholic Church:
Now the company supplies top drawer top drawer Noun Old-fashioned, informal people of the highest social standing names such as Fortnum and Mason with different spoons for serving everything from salt and mustard to honey and jam. They have now been commissioned by Birmingham Assay Office The Birmingham Assay Office is one of the four remaining Assay Offices in the United Kingdom. The development of a silver industry in 18th century Birmingham was hampered by the legal requirement that items of solid silver be assayed, and the nearest Assay Offices were in to make a unique range of spoons marking their 90th anniversary. CAPTION(S): TASTE OF QUALITY... Craig Robathan and great grandfather Charles (below, second left) in the 1950s. Photosales No.: AW060807VALE-1 
my dad has always been amazing at making spoons!
from a young age i remember my dad working around the clock to make sure everything was done at high standerds. my dad is such a perfectionist. by courtney robathan age 13 xxxx#ttl=my dad&comm=my dad is amazing! i remember from a young age my dad working around the clock to make sure his orders were up to high standards. my dad is such a perfectionist. by courtney robathan age 13
|
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion