“When I visited the Pewter factories of Sheffield for the first time I had a paper model with me of the first Rockers Salt&Pepper shakers. The idea was to create a new product that would be like a children’s toy and rock from side to side and so be a simple plaything for the table, possibly a conversation piece and maybe an ice breaker for a first date couple. It was a perfect fit for a Pewter maker I thought but I encountered some unexpected resistance from the first factory I visited where I was told that designing new things was really a waste of time - “listen son, your job is to sell what we can actually make”, to which I replied after a moments thought “….no mister, your job is to make what I can actually sell”, and the rest, as they say, has become a little piece of Sheffield history!”
