Interior ironwork Archives - Made by the Forge BlogMade by the Forge Blog

01 June

Measuring a window for a curtain pole

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Measuring A Window For A Curtain Pole

It’s extraordinary how much gets done around the house when you are actively discouraged to leave it. What about that window you’ve been meaning to spruce up for ages? How difficult can measuring up for a Made by the Forge curtain pole be? Answer? Not at all… Just three simple steps… W. W. W. – Where, Width, Work out…

Where is the pole going to go? Stand back, look at the window and check there are no beams, light switches or fittings in the way of a straight mount above the window. Ideally the pole should be mounted 15cm above the top of the window. If you have a low ceiling, it should be mounted halfway between the ceiling and the top of the window.
Width of the window to be measured.
Work Out 10% of the width of the window for each side’s drawback (the area the curtain hangs in when not drawn). Remember to allow for the thickness of your curtains and add one of two centimetres if necessary.

Also remember to take into consideration the length of the decorative finial at both ends, the size of your choice can be found on the finial’s product page online. We suggest adding one curtain ring for every 10cm of pole. Be sure to order an even number for symmetry.

For a video of Richard showing you these points, please click here. As ever, any questions, give us a call on +44 (0)1473 487118.

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17 May

Ironwork for Interiors New Booklet

Written by Juliet Fishenden

At Made by the Forge, we make the finest ironwork known to humanity! As proof, we can now offer you a small pocket sized booklet to peruse and use for inspiration for your home or interior project. It features all our fabulous ironwork plus our new 25mm metal poles, new finials and a contemporary burnished wax finish. We have a downloadable version or we can send you a printed copy, whatever is the most convenient for you.

Shopping with us is easy and if you have any questions, we are always at the end of the phone or email.

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08 May

Stylish and Strong Shelf Brackets

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Handcrafted, stylish and strong are some of the words describing the fabulous shelf brackets we are making here at Made by the Forge. Recently we received an email, from a high-end interior designer, with the opening line;

“I need to order some more of these wonderful brackets!”

Praise indeed and we’ve had countless interior enthusiasts raving about them. They are incredibly versatile and can be used with any wood of your choice. At present, we don’t supply the actual shelves but after encouraging feedback, we’re making enquiries into providing the wood along with the shelf brackets.

These hand-forged, dark iron brackets have been successfully situated in both modern rustic interior spaces and contemporary ones to great effect. A customer kindly sent an image of her newly installed shelf brackets. They are particularly stunning because of the creative backlighting in her kitchen, a great idea.

The image below shows how our customer Emma furnished her glamping pod with a shelf under the TV so the handsets were all tidily off the floor.

“I’m really pleased with your lovely ironwork, and it’s made all the difference in terms of the finishing touches to both my own property over the years, and now to my newly completed glamping pod – The Owlery. Everyone is extremely complimentary. Thanks again for providing such an excellent service.”
Best wishes
Emma
Loch Sunart Yarns & Buttons

So deciding to put up one or more handy wall shelves is easy with our made to measure brackets. You choose the width of shelf for your needs and we make the brackets just for you. The raw metal is finished in a natural, locally sourced beeswax which gives the iron a beautiful sheen. The brackets can also be finished in a matt black paint according to your needs.

“I have just ordered 6 brackets for my newly decorated office space and am so looking forward to getting the contents of my office out of the boxes and up off the floor. I am the sort of person who likes to be able to see where things are so they are easily found!”

Ordering with us is easy. We have experts at the end of the telephone or an email whichever you choose.

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24 January

Bespoke Ironwork for CLAW’s recently opened Carnaby Restaurant

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Bespoke ironwork can complement an interior like very few other designed pieces. It has the added benefit of being both reassuringly traditional and at the cutting edge. Context is all. Richard and the team at Made by the Forge were commissioned to work with Senior interior Designer, Annie Harrison at the superbly named design company Run For the Hills; a London-based creative design house that exists in the space where graphics and interiors meet.

Named by ‘Design Et Al’ magazine as one of ‘The World’s Leading Design Names, 2018’, Run For The Hills enjoys a superb reputation and Made by the Forge collaborated with the design team fashioning bespoke ironwork for a very specific space. Specialising in the very best seafood from around the British Isles is CLAW (another great brand name). They have a take-away outlet in the city, near Liverpool Street station and have since opened the Carnaby Restaurant right behind Hamley’s on Kingly Street, Soho. CLAW can also be booked independently for festivals and events.

It’s there you’ll find Made by the Forge’s work, ranging from bespoke wall brackets for their lighting and bespoke hand made coat hooks.

If you have an idea Made by the Forge can take your bespoke designs and turn your imagination into handcrafted, wrought iron pieces which will add a certain rustic charm to any interior. Old fashioned spaces or contemporary places, iron just works.

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02 January

Tree Planting with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust

Written by Juliet Fishenden

As you probably know, for every order, Made by the Forge pledges to plant a tree to give back to nature what we’re taking from it. We assign this important part of our business to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Rather than plant one tree at a time, we let the Trust choose the best location and then on a certain day, volunteers who care about the environment come along and plant hundreds of trees at once.

We are indebted to Michael Strand the Trust’s Development Officer whom we meet usually every year at tree plantings. Alas both he and Site Manager Alan Miller were not available for this years’ plantings but there as the Trust representative was Sam Hanks, the Coastal Reserves Assistant and it was a pleasure to meet him.

While at Thorington in Suffolk, I was struck by the generosity of the volunteers. It’s such a good feeling to know there are dedicated and committed people out there who will give their time on a chilly December morning to plant trees given that the simple reward for their actions – a line of proud trees – will be years in the future. We’ve credited the volunteers at the end of this short 2 minute film to mark the occasion. (Click on the picture below to watch) I hope you enjoy it.

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