From his workshop in Sussex's Ashdown Forest, Studio Ore's founder, Daniel Lee, a former software entrepreneur who (handily enough) happens to have a PhD in computational fluid mechanics, produces beautiful handcrafted and hand finished taps, showers and bathroom fixtures.
The brass from which they’re made has been left un-lacquered, which means that with time and use the colours will shift, the natural pattern will evolve and a patina will develop.
In time, these taps will acquire more character, becoming more beautiful with every turn of the handle.
As you’d expect from a trained fluid mechanic – they're not just beautiful but precision-engineered to perform perfectly.
How did it start? In this case, necessity was the mother of invention. Uunable to find the characterful taps he wanted, founder, Daniel’s first set was for his own home. After having his renovation featured on a design blog, commissions from home renovators the world over quickly followed, andDaniel found himself setting up the company just to accommodate the increasing international interest in his handcrafted brassware.
To meet rising demand Daniel subsequently enticed a former London colleague, to give up the city and help him run the business. Since then, he has expanded the range of products to encompass push button basin and bath wastes, shower hinges, loo flushes and other bathroom accessories, as well as introducing weathered bronze, matt black and off-white stove enamelled finishes -all of them united by the ‘authentic imperfection’ that the studio has made its signature style.
When prompted what the appeal is, he puts it down to the fact that many people no longer wantimmaculate, perfection in appearance, but something that feels more homely, and more characterful; like vinyl versus digital; a beautiful, authentic tile that’s been made by hand versus one that has come from a factory production line.
Who are we to argue - after all, these taps and fittings are a perfect balance of design and function, made to improve with age.
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