Why We Make Our Hardware in Great Britain

Since the Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century, Britain has been at the forefront of pioneering design and manufacturing. Now, in a constantly changing world, that long tradition is dying out, with many companies out-source their manufacturing offshore, to locations in Europe and Asia with lower costs.

Creating quality

At Joseph Giles, we value British heritage and values. That's why we design and make our solid brass hardware in Britain. From door pulls wrapped in hand-stitched bridle leather to lever handles with a timber inlay, every piece we create carries an assurance of quality. Partnering with machinists and craftsmen in Britain enables us to maintain close relationships, creating a stable supply chain and enabling a guarantee of great service.

Honouring British craftsmanship

Many of our designs incorporate specialist features and materials. We work with talented artisans who have decades of experience and are keeping British craftsmanship alive through their continued use of traditional manufacturing methods.

The hammered texture on our solid brass products is applied by hand, using various sizes of ball pein hammer to achieve a different effect on each. We use bronze or brass sand-casting to achieve our more organic handle shapes, such as the Tiro or Cove collections.

Several of our handles combine brass and glass: the glass components are made by hand, and then hand-assembled with the brass element at our facility in Sussex. Each one of our leather-wrapped products has tiny, perfect stitches running along the back of the handle, all stitched by hand.

Our Sussex headquarters

Every piece of decorative hardware we supply has been designed and perfected by our designers and engineering team at our offices in Sussex. We seek inspiration from a diverse selection of sources, from searching for the perfect pebble shape on Hastings beach, to visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum. Once initial concepts have been sketched out, a CAD drawing is created and then fine-tuned by the engineering team, who go through several rounds of prototypes before a design is confirmed.

Our collection of hardware is made up of thousands of brass components, so we work with specialist CNC machinists in the north of Britain to manufacture some of the range. Our in-house machinist also manufactures a variety of products, from cabinet handles and edge pulls to electrical plates.

With on-site finishing booths, our expert team can create most of our signature finishes in-house, helping us to offer quick turnaround times for urgently needed hardware. Carrying out finishing in-house helps us control quality, ensuring our finishes match perfectly every time.

By crafting our hardware in Great Britain, we combine a legacy of craftsmanship with trusted manufacturing partnerships today, with the goal to maintain our commitment to the highest standard of quality. The result is exceptional British door hardware, designed to elevate the world's best living spaces in prime residential properties around the globe.

To discuss how we can assist with your project, contact our friendly team at info@josephgiles.com, or call +44 (0)20 8680 2602.