Workshop to Table : The Art of a Cast Iron Skillet

Ever wondered why some things feel like they were made just for you?

The right skillet does more than cook. It inspires confidence, sparks creativity, and becomes a quiet partner in your daily ritual. At Nest Homeware, we've designed our cookware to do exactly that. We make tools that perform wonderfully, feel intuitively comfortable in your hand, and age beautifully with every meal.

Iron Origins
People often ask how I got started making cast iron cookware. The answer isn’t a single moment - it’s curiosity, design, and a deep love for materials that endure. I didn’t train as a chef, and I don’t claim the title. I enjoy cooking (and eating - good God…) but my path to cast iron came through design and a deep love of the material itself.

I studied Industrial Design at RISD, and I've been an instructor there for over a decade as well. It was during my time as a student that I was introduced to cast iron. As a material, it’s deceptively simple, yet rich with possibilities. Perhaps most exciting to me at the time (and still) was the ability to actually cast it. The implication that iron could take any shape was very exciting. That it would endure for millennia, even more so. I felt (and still feel) a responsibility to the lifespan of the material. If something will last forever, it should be beautiful…

I thought of making cookware immediately, even in that class. The idea came to me through wordplay and puns (because I am, in fact, a dork). I knew that seasoned cast iron was a staple in the kitchen, and that it was often toted as the “original non-stick” pan. My mind went to the word “stick,” then “pan,” then put them together. The idea of “stick-pan” [that embodied the original “non-stick” qualities desired in cookware] was an amusing thought. I actually made a quick sketch of what would eventually become our flagship skillet on the first day of class in 2008, but I wouldn’t actually go on to make the first one until five years later.

Prototyping by Hand
Even as digital tools increasingly dominate design, I prefer to iterate physically: sketching, sculpting, carving, and machining by hand. Designing and prototyping are necessarily very physical processes, sensual even. This ends up being something that I stress when I teach - being able to feel and respond to shape and material in the real world is invaluable when designing products for people. The truly haptic feedback - defining a curve, honing an edge, the weight of a handle - teaches lessons that no screen can.

When designing the first pieces of our cookware, this was my method from day one. I wanted every piece to feel alive in the hand, to seem responsive to touch. I wanted to retain a certain warmth, balance, and natural elegance while being unmistakably functional. This hands-on approach ensured that each piece carries intentional (honest ergonomics) and function, not just form. And while there was an eventual translation in CAD ("computer aided drawing" or digital 3D modelling), I take pride in knowing that this design is not digitally native - it’s human.

Skeuomorphism: Respecting Form, Elevating Function
It’s a true challenge to work in skeuomorphism. Retaining visual or gestural DNA from the natural world, while creating something entirely new requires a lot of sensitivity. The handles of every piece of our cookware are inspired by cherry branches, but I was aiming to preserve the organic gesture of a branch without copying it literally. Too literal, and it feels like tchotchke. Too abstract, and it loses all warmth. The right balance, I believe, is where our skillet earns (and expresses) its soul.

Creating the design language for our cookware required careful attention: which lines to accentuate, which surfaces to smooth, and how the handle sits in the hand. It’s a delicate negotiation between beauty, function, and intuition.

Nest Homeware Today
Looking at our 9in Skillet today, you can see the difference from what otherwise exists in cast iron cookware immediately. But the real magic comes when you touch it - when you feel the balanced weight, the subtle curve of the handle, and watch the light play across its swells and edges as you turn it in your hand. It’s a connection to material, craft, and design philosophy all at once - that you can feel.

Every piece of cookware we make at Nest Homeware is rooted in this ethos: design that performs, feels right, and will stand the test of time, forever. From the first molten pour to the seasoned surface in your kitchen, our goal is to make cooking feel inspiring, approachable, and just a little bit magical.

A Skillet That Becomes Part of Your Story
The right skillet is more than a tool. It’s part of the rhythm of your kitchen, your meals, and your life. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a pan feel like it was designed just for you, explore our cookware and discover the Nest Homeware difference.