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William Leonard Welch MA (RCA) FCSD, (born 2 April 1972) is an English Industrial Designer. William is the son of the late post-war Industrial Designer Robert Radford Welch (21 May 1929 – 15 March 2000).

Welch was born in Leamington Spa and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Welch received his design education at the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University) where he completed courses in Furniture design and Silversmithing, before going on to complete his Master of Arts Degree at The Royal College of Art, London. Welch worked for Pentagram Design London as a junior designer (1995-1997), under practice partner Kenneth Grange, and later worked in the same design consultancy for Daniel Wiel (1997-1999).

Welch founded Studio William in 2005, as CEO and Head Designer.

Vocational Qualifications & Honours
 * 2001 Master of Arts Degree, Royal College of Art
 * 2003 Presented with Freedom of the City of London
 * 2003 Freeman of Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
 * 2004 Fellow of Chartered Society of Designs
 * 2007 Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts

Public Work and International Design Awards

Welch has produced work that has been awarded the following recognition:
 * Scholarship, Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths 1997
 * Silver Product Design Award, Hospitality Show, 1999
 * Short-listed, Oxo/Peugeot Design Awards, 1999 & 2000
 * Finalist, Bombay Sapphire Competition, 2000
 * Runner up, Deutsche Bank, Pyramid Awards, 2001
 * Winner, The Lord Snowdon Award, Design for Disabilities, 2001
 * Winner, Borders Group/RCA Society Award, ‘skill and innovation in design’, 2001
 * Highly commended, V&A/Homes & Gardens, Classic Design Awards, 2002
 * Winner, Form 2002 Award, Tendence – Frankfurt International Fair, 2002
 * Winner of Applied Metal Design, Oxo/Peugeot Design Awards 2002
 * Overall Winner, Oxo/Peugeot Design Awards, prize money £16,000, 2002
 * Nominated for ‘Products for the Home - Product Design’, D&AD (Design and Art Direction Awards) and published in the Awards Annual 2004
 * Winner, Kitchen Products, d&ad awards (design and decoration awards) 2004
 * Designpreis Nominee 2006, 2008 & 2011
 * RedDot Design Award winner 2007, 2010 & 2011
 * Good Design Award 2008, 2011 & 2013
 * Designpreis Deutschland Nominee 2011
 * IF Product Design Award 2012
 * Studio William Welch Ltd exhibition - Victoria & Albert Museum. London 2012
 * Victoria & Albert Museum acquire 7 cutlery patterns for their permanent collection as an example contemporary British design)

Charity Work
 * A supporter since 2008 of the ITF (International Tree Foundation), replanting and protecting Rainforests around the World
 * Hilton Charity Fund

Alongside these awards, Welch’s cutlery designs are on display in permanent museum collections worldwide including the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, Chicago, and the RedDot Museum in Essen, Germany. Welch’s designs are also displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, where selected cutlery ranges accompanied the Sweet Instruments of Desire competition exhibition, set by Studio William in partnership with John Lewis. As part of the design brief students from the Royal College of Art, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University and the Edinburgh College of Art were invited to submit work that explored and challenged the traditional orthodoxy that surrounds the dessert course of a meal, with the winning design being manufactured by Studio William, and sold in John Lewis stores across the country. 