KAYMET – Peckham, London, England
The Heritage: In 1947, emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, founder Sydney Schreiber realised that London was suddenly full of redundant machinery and highly skilled metalworkers who’d spent the previous years building everything from radar equipment to aircraft parts. He established Kaymet in London’s Elephant and Castle district to channel those industrial skills into domestic homewares, specifically working with aluminium. Today, after more than 75 years of continuous production in South London (they are now based in Peckham), Kaymet's commitment to UK manufacturing was recognised when they were granted a Royal Warrant by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2020.
The Verdict: Kaymet is a triumph of mid-century modernist design and another testament to our much-favoured "buy once, buy well" philosophy. They are everything that cheap, disposable homewares are not - solid, beautiful and finished by hand. The brilliance of Kaymet is that they simply haven't needed to change their designs since the 1950s. Each tray and each trolley is still meticulously produced in their London factory: the aluminium is pressed, formed and polished before being sent out for anodising and then returns to the workshop to be carefully assembled and finished by hand. The resulting pieces, characterised as they are by their signature ribbed handles and diamond-dimpled surfaces, are incredibly lightweight, timelessly elegant and practically indestructible!
Core Products: The iconic Ribbed Tray (which has been in continuous production since the 1950s), the classic two-tier Folding Trolley and their range of practical lap trays.
