Transform Cooking with Sole Cookware's Cardinal Knife. Join the Kickstarter
Meet Lily.
Founder of Sole Cookware
I believe that I have the skills to create a successful company; I am both a trained chef and a gender studies major. I understand both the market as well as the needs of a chef. Currently, I am in the NYU food studies graduate program and am actively working with specialists and have created an award winning prototype that solves the hole in the market.
It began with a simple idea.
2019
On my first day of culinary school, I struggled with the pinch technique and realized I didn't know how to hold a knife properly, despite cooking my whole life. My chef told me knives are made for women, so I’d have to work harder. Determined to find a better way, I sketched a more comfortable knife design, which eventually became a prototype with the help of our amazing designer, Gizem.
2022
In December 2022, we started designing a knife that was manufacturable, comfortable, beautiful, and stylish enough to be displayed in a home. After many iterations, we developed an even better concept: a customizable knife. We wanted everyone to have our cardinal knife in their hands and began thinking of ways to make this happen.
2023
Gizem and I did a lot of prototyping in-house, allowing us to thoroughly refine the design, identify mistakes, and correct them before further testing and feedback from family, friends, and board members. This process generated more ideas and helped us perfect our original Cardinal concept.
The learning curve for the 3D printer was intense, but it was incredibly rewarding to hold prototypes we made ourselves and see our designs come to life. We then collaborated with metal designers to perfect the blade's curves and balance our knife. We realized the idea was patentable, so we began working with a patent attorney and now have a patent-pending design.
2024
