RW GUILD Bean Flatware Collection in Stainless Steel

RW GUILD Bean Flatware Collection in Stainless Steel

Starting at $120 USD

Created by Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer, our stainless steel, hand-crafted Bean Flatware features a flowing, curvaceous handle evoking the shapes and forms of the body.

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Dinner Fork
Dinner Spoon
Dinner Knife

Designed, prototyped, and refined by Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer over more than four years, the Bean & Bone Flatware Collection represents the highest possible craft in cutlery. Inspired by the anatomy of 16th to 18th century English flatware, the collection is offered in two styles—the flowing, curvaceous Bean, and the handsome, linear Bone—that exist in harmony, and are designed to be combined synergistically on the table. To produce the collection, Alesch and Standefer spent two years researching factories around the world before finally finding a collective of heritage workshops in Tsubame, Japan, that forge metalwork entirely by hand using treasured, time-honored techniques. Drawing on four centuries of knowledge, each fork, spoon, and knife passes through a dozen separate workrooms during production—from a studio of one to a factory of 40—before being stamped with a signature insignia hand-drawn by Alesch to include a credit to the metalsmiths of Tsubame.

Black and white portrait of founders Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer

About the Designers

Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer are the founders and principals of Roman and Williams, Roman and Williams Guild, La Mercerie, and Guild Gallery. In addition to finding and assembling the world’s most prodigious artists for their modern guild of the senses, the husband-and-wife team prolifically makes, creates, and leads. In their work, nature serves as a timeless source of inspiration for the future of how we live.

The Bean and Bone exist in harmony, and are designed to be combined synergistically on the table.

The Bean reimagines the anatomy of 16th to 18th century English flatware with an emphasis on heft, weight, and intricate structural detailing.

The Bean’s flowing, curvaceous handle is inspired by the shapes and forms of the body.

Each piece is hand-crafted by a collective of master metalsmiths in Tsubame, whose rich history as a metalworking mecca stretches back to the 1600s.