www.modernluxuria.com
Razor-sharp Beauty Old-world skill creates modern-day heirlooms WORDS BY FRANCESCA ROZNICKI PHOTOGRAPHY BY SKYE LIZOTTE
Scenic oil paintings, fine bone china, and other traditional heirlooms find their way more readily to thrift stores than they do to relatives' homes. Made well enough to survive the ages, yes, but out of place now in modern times. Ask former chef, Kevin Kent, about passing along something beautiful that’s made to last and he’s got the answer: any one of the handmade Japanese knives displayed in his Knifewear stores. Kent was working at St. John, the prestigious restaurant in Smithfield (London), under master chef Fergus Henderson when he attended a chef’s convention in the late 1990s. It was there that he became familiar with the unique craftsmanship of Japanese knives. Kent says that feeling the blade effortlessly slice into a tomato (like it was butter) was a life-changing experience. In 2007, he returned to Calgary and immediately plotted to import the knives. His sole intent was to sell them to other chefs and make some money so that he could afford more for his personal collection, but the reception and demand were so overwhelming that it became a full-time business, and Knifewear was born.
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