Skip to content
Object name(s):
Mug
Brief description:
Orange mug with white interior in moulded Melaware (Melmex) plastic.
Collection:
Victoria and Albert Museum
Associated concept:
Drinking
Associated concept:
Containers
Credit line:
Given by the designer
Current reproduction location:
https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2020MN4354/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg
Location type:
Thumbnail
Dimension:
Height
Dimension measurement unit:
cm
Dimension value:
9.5
Dimension:
Width
Dimension measurement unit:
cm
Dimension value:
9.5
Dimension:
Diameter
Dimension measurement unit:
cm
Dimension value:
7.2
Object name:
Mug
Object number:
C.61-2003
Object production date:
ca. 1957
Date - association:
designed
Date - earliest / single:
1952-01-01
Date - latest:
1961-12-31
Object production organisation:
EKCO
Organisation's association:
manufacturer
Object production person:
Rowlands, Martyn
Person's association:
designer
Object production place:
England
Place association:
made
Physical description:
Orange mug with white interior in moulded Melaware (Melmex) plastic.
Reproduction number:
2020MN4354
Responsible department/section:
CER
Technique:
Moulded Melaware (Melmex) plastic
Text reason:
Collections online record
Text:
Martyn Rowlands trained at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. Specialising in plastics, he was one of the first trained industrial designers to work with British industry after the Second World War. He was employed first by Bakelite Ltd., then set up the design department at Ekco Plastics, where his products won a number of design awards. In 1959, he left Ekco to work as an independent design consultant, at a time when the idea of the design consultancy in Britain was still in its infancy. One important commission during this period came from the GPO in 1966 for the popular telephone known as the 'Trimphone', which won a Design Council Award. Rowlands' products for Ekco included tableware such as this mug as well as nursery products, a baby bath with stand, and a watering-can. He developed products specifically to suit the qualities of plastic materials rather than simply carrying across traditional forms.
Text reason:
Summary description
User's reference:
Reference:
Penny Sparke: "Consultant Design: The History and Practice of the Designer in Industry", Pembridge Press, 1983

Persistent shareable link for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/3e5558cf-a21b-3e21-9689-cd9a7ff34c53

Use licence for this record: CC BY-NC

Attribution for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/3e5558cf-a21b-3e21-9689-cd9a7ff34c53, Victoria and Albert Museum, CC BY-NC

Is there a problem with this record? Give feedback.

Sign up to our newsletter

Follow the latest MDS developments every two months with our newsletter.

Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy notice.

Back to top