01 THE STORY
From Sketch to Table
The line begins with Tias Eckhoff's study of proportion. In Maya 2000, the handle, transition and functional form are resolved as one continuous object.
02 THE DETAILS
The Details
Maya 2000 develops the triangular Maya form into a longer and slimmer silhouette. The streamlined proportions give the pieces a lighter, more elongated expression while preserving the broad, comfortable handle.
A note from Tias Eckhoff
Tias Eckhoffs relationship with cutlery became especially important in 1962, when he designed Maya for Norstaal. The broad handle narrows into a triangular form, while rounded edges give the pieces a strong but comfortable grip. The design became one of the defining Scandinavian cutlery patterns of the twentieth century, later entering Phaidon Design Classics and museum collections including MoMA in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Eckhoff continued to explore the table through collections including Una, Chaco and Maya 2000, each revisiting proportion, balance and the relationship between strict geometry and softer curves. His work rarely depended on ornament. Character emerged instead from the way an object was refined — slowly, physically and with extraordinary attention to the smallest shifts in form.
“I work slowly, I would like to file on a piece of cutlery for a year.” — Tias Eckhoff
Tias Eckhoff
Questions about Stelton Maya 2000 Complete Collection — 48 Pieces / 12 People
What happens when Tias Eckhoff’s rewritten classic is repeated around a table for twelve?
Maya 2000 moves from individual object to complete composition. Across twelve place settings, the same elongated proportions and triangular design principle repeat from guest to guest, making Eckhoff’s evolution of the original 1962 Maya visible as a rhythm across the entire table.
What is the difference between the original Maya and Maya 2000?
Both collections were designed by Tias Eckhoff and share the same distinctive triangular design principle, but Maya 2000 is noticeably longer and slimmer. The original Maya dinner knife measures 20.0 cm, the fork 17.7 cm and the spoon 18.0 cm. In Maya 2000, these grow to 22.0 cm, 20.2 cm and 20.5 cm respectively. The extra length gives Maya 2000 a more elongated and streamlined character, while the original Maya feels shorter, broader and more compact.
Why did Tias Eckhoff return to Maya almost forty years after designing the original?
Maya 2000 was not conceived as a rejection of the original, but as its evolution for a new millennium. Eckhoff preserved the triangular geometry that made Maya recognisable while changing the proportions, creating a lighter and more streamlined interpretation of the same fundamental design idea.
Why does the triangular handle become more powerful when it is repeated forty-eight times?
One piece reveals the geometry; twelve place settings reveal the system. The triangular transition repeats around the table, connecting knives, forks and spoons through one recognisable formal principle and creating visual continuity from one guest to the next.
When does an updated classic become a classic in its own right?
When it no longer needs the original to explain its relevance. Maya 2000 began as Tias Eckhoff’s later interpretation of Maya, but its longer, slimmer proportions give it a distinct character of its own. Around a complete twelve-person table, it reads as a coherent design language rather than simply a variation of the 1962 original.