Every year the FA cup comes to the Thomas Lyte Silver workshop in London to be repaired and restored before being handed over to the winning team.
- The FA Cup being restored and polished.
Photograph by Amit Lennon.
Our expert silversmiths Kevin Williams and Tony Cimmering have been restoring the cup for the past 12 years, the current trophy dating from 1992 as the previous cup from 1910 had become too fragile.
“It’s been repaired God knows how many times, but you’d never know, because each time it’s been repaired it’s camouflaged, going through the process of the silver plating”, explains Tony.
The Sunday Telegraph Sports Supplement 14.5.11
Let’s hope Manchester City do a better job of looking after it than Real Madrid…
- Real Madrid and the FA Cup
The Sports Industry Group have written a bit more about the Cup, and the latest victors on their News Page, and the BBC also came to the workshop for a visit, and got some lovely pictures which you can View Here.
Design went back to the benches this week, a place where, as a jeweller, I feel very much at home. Working on a new contemporary range of cufflinks I felt the need to get my hands on some metal so I headed over to Thomas Lyte Silver to feed on inspiration. Rooting through the vast array of base metal sheets, rods and wires I was left to my own devices to break saw blades and gather together a range of mock-ups that could be turned into swish and shiny new cufflinks.
The boys tried to teach Mark (our engraver who’s fast becoming a skilled apprentice silversmith) and I the old hand silversmith’s way of strip feeding solder into the flame. It was much more fun than the traditional jewelers approach of snipping and precisely placing small strips of rolled solder but after a few laughable attempts (one mock up contains more easy flow solder than base metal!) I shelved the new approach and decided it’s probably best to come back to it when I’m working on significantly larger pieces -or have the time to sit and chip pools of excess solder off the heat plate!
All in all a fun yet productive day, watch this space for the results!
It’s that time of year again for selecting the new leathers for the upcoming collection!
After weeks of keeping a beady eye out on the latest colour trends and attending seminars by numerous eccentric and enthusiastic Italian lecturers I have a clear idea of which colours I’m looking for to fully compliment the new bags that we’ve been working on.
Early in the morning I gather the team together and am glad to see we all agree on the colours, we hop on the tube laden with the latest mock ups and our precious book of chosen colour swatches. Four tubes, five taxis –ok one long taxi with our amazing driver Phil who patiently waited for us outside countless leather merchants and filled us in on relationship advice to Love FM in between- 3 pairs of shoes (not to mention a nice lunch in the sun next to Tower Bridge) later we return to the office exhausted but with numerous cut-offs of the season’s latest leathers.
One sleep later we’re back in the ‘slouchy’ office equipped with coffees and a fresh view on the findings of the previous day and we’re not leaving until we have the crack down on the final decisions. Fifteen discussions on product construction and leather graining, dying and cutting techniques later and we have our wrap!
The swatches are hanging on my latest mood board and I can’t wait for the skins to arrive. Judging by the amount the team keep touching and smelling them I think the new collection will be a winner so watch this space!
At Thomas Lyte we only use the best quality leather, but even the best leather is subject to damage. With the right care leather improves with age providing many years of enjoyable use.
Here are some general leather care tips:
- Colour changes or irregularities should be considered natural features.
- Avoid using or placing sharp objects on leather goods. Leather is very durable, but not accident or damage proof.
- Protect your leather from direct and even indirect sunlight. Some leathers, such as full and semi-aniline, will fade over time.
- Keep leather free from dust by dusting with a soft cloth and storing in a protective cotton pouch, such as the one provided with all Thomas Lyte products.
- Store in a flat clean dry place.
- Remember that leather is a natural material and should never be stored in plastic because it encourages the growth of mildew and bacteria and will ruin the leather!
- To Clean your leather wipe with a soft cloth, a wet cloth can be used but please allow to naturally dry.
- Fresh stains such as food can be cleaned up quickly with a damp cloth.
- Stains from oil or grease can be lifted by grinding ordinary blackboard chalk, sprinkling the area, and leaving the powder on for a twenty-four hour period. Resist the urge to rub the powder in. After a sufficient time has passed, simply use a leather care brush to remove the powder.
- Whilst fresh stains can be treated and cleaned at home, ground-in stains should be attended to by a professional cleaner who deals in leather.
The time and care that go into product photography is often underestimated and undervalued by many luxury brands- this isn’t the case at Thomas Lyte. We believe that exquisite craftsmanship requires exquisite photography. It’s no mistake that Hungry Tiger, one of London’s top photographic studios, is right on our doorstep.
At Hungry Tiger every detail is taken into consideration: every reflection, every grain of leather, every embossing or engraving is carefully, and often individually, lit. Every shot requires its own unique and often sprawling set-up resulting in a mish-mashed obstacle course of soft boxes, Broncolor heads, power packs and large faux black walls.
Using Hassleblad bodies and lenses with digital backs, every single Thomas Lyte shot is repeatedly captured, digitally previewed, analyzed and quality approved to reach the standard our products and clients deserve. The experience of a Thomas Lyte shoot at Hungry Tiger is guaranteed to be backed up by the friendly banter provided by the team and is a block in my diary I always look forward to!
Shot Set
Reflecting light into the rim of a salver
Iain Dickens capturing a shot
Digital previewing
Thomas Lyte silverware is hand-made by our craftsmen at our London Workshop. We are proud to have some of this country’s finest and most experienced silversmiths and polishers who create some the world’s most famous pieces of iconic silverware.
To ensure that your silverware has longevity and retains its look and condition we have provided a few answers to some frequently asked questions.
How do you remove fingerprints from silver?
Simply rub a dry cloth lightly on the silver to remove any finger marks.
How do you remove any light scratches on the silver?
A standard silver polish/cleaner that can be bought in most stores will be good to remove any light scratches. Take a dry cloth and apply a little of the liquid to the cloth. Run into the scratch, leave to dry, then rub off with a soft dry cloth and complete with the silver polishing cloth.
What if the silver should get wet?
Allow the piece of silver to dry out completely, using a hair dryer if required. When the surface is dry, use a liquid silver polish as above, or try to remove any water marks with the polishing cloth. Do not try to dry the silver with a cloth or towel as it will be badly marked and it will require a full machine polish to restore the shine.
What if the silver should tarnish?
This is a natural process when the metal is exposed to the air and the speed at which the item will tarnish depends on the climatic conditions where it is on display. To avoid tarnishing, the silver should be polished with the polishing cloth on a regular basis, weekly is good to reduce the amount of tarnishing. If left without cleaning, the tarnish “settles” into the silver and is difficult to remove with a cloth. If this should occur, the item should be returned to the workshop for a full clean and polish.
What if the silver is dropped and gets dented?
Should any accidents occur the item can be sent to our workshop to be repaired. Call us on +44 (1) 208 500 3700 or email master silversmith Kevin Williams at kevin.williams@thomaslyte.com
This post was written by Kevin Williams, Master Silversmith at Thomas Lyte.
Simon Crompton, the author of Permanent Style blog, recently visited our London Leather Workshop. Permanent Style is recommended by the New York Times, as one of the top ten men’s style blogs.
I was introduced to a brand recently called Thomas Lyte. Better known for their silver work (it’s their responsibility to maintain and refurbish the FA Cup), they also have a growing selection of leather goods with an admirable focus on craft.
I visited the leather workshop in south-west London last week to take a look at how the bags are put together.
The leather they use comes from a small German tannery called Breuninger, which Thomas Lyte effectively saved from insolvency when it bought a large order of mustard-coloured grain leather a few years ago. Now functioning and solvent, Breuninger has retained the mustard dye (together with a grey) exclusively for Thomas Lyte.
The vegetable-tanned leather uses a method called tipping to bring out the fine grain the company has stamped on it. Essentially this means dying the leather twice, once before and once after stamping, the second time using a darker dye that sits between the raised grain and adds contrast. Read More at Permanent Style…