The Studio
Built on an eye
for the well-made.
Barn & Brass began with two people who couldn't walk past a beautiful door knocker without stopping to study it. Garrick and Naomi Dartnell founded the studio around a simple belief — that the objects you touch every day deserve to be made properly, from materials that only get better with age.
"We wanted hardware that felt like it belonged — pieces with real weight, real warmth, and a finish that improves every time you touch it. We couldn't find exactly what we had in mind, so we made it ourselves."
Garrick & Naomi Dartnell · Founders
The founders
Two disciplines.
One obsession.
Garrick Dartnell
Garrick brings a background in design and business to every decision at Barn & Brass — from the proportions of a handle to the way a product is packaged. His approach is rooted in function first, beauty second, and the belief that the two are rarely in conflict when you start with the right material.
Naomi Dartnell
Naomi's eye for interior design and home styling shapes every collection. She knows how hardware sits within a room — how a brass knob can anchor a kitchen, or how a door knocker sets the tone before a guest even steps inside. Her instinct for what works in a real home is what keeps Barn & Brass grounded in everyday life.
Together they make a studio that is equal parts considered and practical — obsessed with the details, but always designing for a home rather than a showroom.
The material
Why we chose brass — and why we never looked back.
Of all the materials we could have built a hardware studio around, brass is the one that earns its place. It is beautiful out of the box. It improves with use. And it can be made into almost anything.
Luster & finish
Brass has a warmth that chrome and steel simply cannot replicate. Whether lacquered to a bright, lasting shine or left unlacquered to develop a living patina — it brings light into a room in a way no other metal does. It can be polished, antiqued, brushed, or coloured, giving designers and homeowners a range of finishes that remain genuinely distinctive.
Versatility in the making
Brass responds beautifully to almost every manufacturing method. Sand casting gives us organic, heritage-influenced forms with subtle texture. Die casting allows precision at scale. Milling produces clean, geometric profiles. Punching and pressing allow flat forms and decorative details. This versatility means we can design hardware that genuinely cannot be made in any other material — and made properly, not as a compromise.
A material that ages
Unlacquered brass develops a patina over time — deepening, darkening at the contact points, telling the story of the hands that have touched it. This is not a flaw. It is the whole point. Unlike plated finishes that chip or fade, solid brass transforms into something richer. Pieces that are twenty years old often look better than the day they were fitted.
The heritage
England has always known what to do with brass.
Britain has one of the longest traditions of brass craftsmanship in the world. From the Georgian door furniture of London's townhouses to the Victorian ironmongery of the industrial Midlands, English homes have always been finished in brass — not by accident, but because it is the right material for the job.
The Black Country, Walsall, and Birmingham built entire industries around it. Master brassfounders passed techniques through generations, producing everything from naval fittings to drawing room door handles. The attention to craft, the pride in a well-made piece, the understanding that good hardware should outlast the building it goes into — that tradition is what Barn & Brass is rooted in.
We are not trying to revive something lost. We are continuing something that never really stopped — for those who still care about it.
What we're here for
Spaces worth living in, hardware worth keeping.
Barn & Brass exists for the people who notice the details. Who choose a handle not just because it works but because it says something about how the room should feel. Who want their home to have texture and warmth and objects that will still be there — and still be beautiful — in fifty years.
Everything we design is intended for a lifetime of use. Not a season. Not a renovation cycle. A lifetime. That means solid brass, properly cast or machined, finished by hand, and designed to the kind of proportions that never go out of style. We want the hardware in your home to be something you reach for every day without thinking — and something you still appreciate when you do.