As a student, Welch made four extended visits to Scandinavia, studying in Stockholm and working with the Norwegian silversmith Theodor Olsen. Scandinavian modernism made a huge impression on him, instilling a love of functional precision and the clean line. In his final year at the Royal College of Art, he decided to focus his studies on designing for stainless steel and wrote his thesis on "The Design and Production of Stainless Steel Tableware" whilst focusing his final projects on the development of its look.