Designer Don Estabrooks just may have the most compelling flatware portfolio ever. The longtime Towle Silversmiths designer joined the company in the mid-’60s and has created hundreds of flatware patterns in an almost six-decade (and counting) tenure.
Perhaps his greatest achievement is Wave, which debuted in 2004 to rousing fanfare and has been at the top of the charts ever since. Chris Wile, another longstanding staffer (33 years), is president of Lifetime Brands/Metals (which owns Towle as well as a who’s who of tableware brands including Mikasa, Pfaltzgraff, International, Wallace, and Wilton Armetale). “Since day one, Wave has been a great pattern for the Towle Living brand, and it’s by far our number one seller by a healthy margin,” he says. “After one big name retailer brought it to the marketplace, everyone wanted it. It’s one of the few patterns we have in our multiple brands that sells across multiple channels. I’ve not seen a pattern like it in all my years. Wave has stood the test of time, celebrating its 20th anniversary, which you know isn’t an easy achievement. Patterns come and go, but Wave continues to be a heavily demanded pattern. The amount of volume and traffic this pattern has done in the last 20 years is very impressive.”
................................ Towle Living’s über powerhouse WAVE celebrates 20 years in the spotlight, an exemplary example of forged flatware. It’s time to catch the WAVE.
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Estabrooks is pretty impressed by its longevity. “It’s one of my proudest and best achievements,” he enthuses. “There are probably only two or three other designs of mine that have lasted as long or have sold as much as Wave.” Wile concurs: “This pattern stands out in the Towle portfolio,” he says. “What differentiates Wave is its proportions, unique head part shapes, and the distinctive end point at the tip of the handle. We have a lot of beautiful patterns, but this forged flatware design stands apart because of its three-dimensional beauty. Stamped patterns can be great designs, but they’re flat. With forged designs, the overall profiles tend to be simpler, but you get the design in the shape. Forged designs are dimensional, sleek, and contemporary.”
The idea came to Estabrooks while he was taking a walk on the beach in his native Newburyport, MA. “I live along the coast and frequently walk the beach,” he says. “One day, while watching the action of the waves, one breaking and the next one forming, I was inspired. It occurred to me that there was a flatware pattern there. It took a few iterations until I was satisfied with the design. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Sometimes when concepting new designs I get the feeling that I was similarly inspired many years ago, but the result will almost always be something new.”
The veteran metals exec, Wile, admires his colleague’s talents. “Don’s amazing. I’m 33 years with this company, and Don is in his 57th. What sets him apart is he was part of the manufacturing process when he started. He designs flatware that can actually be made and used on the table. He knows the dos and don’ts of the manufacturing process. I’ve worked with some wonderful designers over the years but Don is by far the best. His designs have stood the test of time.” Wile says the design process is a true collaboration between many departments. “We all work together. Don’s aware of what works from a marketing and sales perspective. We feed into Don as he’s working. He comes in with storyboards once a month, which chart his inspirations. For Wave, he drew a scene where we saw the pattern in the design: the beach, the water, the waves breaking, and how the pattern followed the wave structure. Wile continues: "Innovation in flatware is extremely difficult; it's hard to innovate. Other brands have tried to emulate this pattern. It’s such a unique design that’s difficult to replicate because of the 360 degree circular round bottom. We've seen a lot of competitors, but they fail to achieve the beauty of Wave.”
................................ WAVE is such a sleek design that it stands alone and doesn’t depend on similar designs in the market to be successful. It’s one of my proudest and best achievements. There are probably only two or three other designs of mine that have lasted as long or have sold as much as WAVE.
– Don Estabrooks
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The design has been leveraged in different set configurations and finishes (gold, gunmetal, black, copper, satin, and satin gold; mirror, satin, gunmetal, and gold are the current finishes). "Wave mirror is still the bulk of what we do, but the additional looks enhance the original and offers customers additional choices," says Wile. The multi-million-dollar-a-year performer - with tens of millions of pieces produced over its lifetime - shows no signs of slowing down. A slew of accessory pieces (coffee spoons, appetizer forks, steak knives, spreaders, pie server, baby set, cheese sets, seasonal items, and serving sets) in stainless and gold, $30 to $65, are available. The best-selling configuration is the 20-piece set, which generates 75% of all Wave sales. Not everything associated with Wave has made a splash. "We went through some phases that the market was going through, like a rainbow finish which had a very short window when that finish was prominent in the market. But that doesn't happen often because we're realistic when we bring something to market because of the costs involved. The finish must be trend-right and market-right." Flatware retails range from $105 to $195, 42-piece sets. For this anniversary year, 20-piece sets will include an extra piece or two (serving spoon or pierced serving spoon and fork). New Towle packaging has been built around Wave.
Concludes Wile: "The longevity of Wave has clearly placed it as the number one pattern in many categories - forged, housewares, and stainless steel. Our continued goal is to offer a five-star experience for every consumer who buys flatware from us, and Wave has made that a very easy process."