Orchid Door Handle

Last year I had the pleasure of working with Kellie Beaubelle a designer in Orinda, CA who was  looking for unusual hardware, what followed was a highly imaginative collaboration of design talents.

The project began with a finite plan for one entry  handle set, but once installed, the scope was expanded to include all the exterior doors that were fabricated by the door maker with Anderson multi-point locks. To accommodate the multi-point mechanism, we created a new turn piece design that has been added to our Hedgerow and Willow multi-point sets and which we will be expanding  to our other multi-points collections.

The project did not end with the entry doors as once the creative genie was out of the bottle Kellie wanted to see what artistic pieces could be added to the master and guest bedrooms. In a previous post we have documented how the Venus slipper orchid was redesigned by Martin Pierce to create a grand scale door pull which for Kellie’s project has been used for 3 large vanity drawers.

Once the concept was approved, we worked with Kellie’s vanity plan to create a mock-up idea showing how the orchid would look on the cabinet drawers. The pattern development and mold creation have been documented in 2 previous posts but now we can share photos of the piece cast in bronze and also nickel plated in a satin finish.

Plan drawing courtesy Kellie Beaubelle

Orchid handles added by Martin Pierce

The Venus slipper orchid has a pronounced stamen and labellum that project out from the body of the flower and in the casting, it is these points that are gripped to pull open the door or drawer.

New orchid design for dramatic entry door takes shape

Our Orchid cabinet knobs and pulls are popular pieces and often used as accent statements in kitchens and bathrooms. I suspect the appeal lies in their realism although the designs are not a literal portrayal of any particular orchid. The closest type of orchid is possibly the Paphiopedilum (Venus Slipper) or the Phalaenopsis (Moth) but with over 20,000 species and hybrids there may well be and exact match that left it’s imprint on Martin Pierce’s retina.

 Orchid Cabinet Knobs and Stems

The orchid knob has a 3/4” stem post that allows the flower head to be easily gripped and pulled. The same clearance for fingers is given to the orchid spray by the curved stem that connects the 2 orchid flowers.

New Orchid for grand statement

The new orchid is scaled to make a dramatic door statement and like our Willow heroic pull we see it being placed in the center of the door and not on the door stile. The end result will be cast in solid bronze and measure 6” x 6” x 1 ¼” and it may lend itself to being either nickel plated or artistically patinaed with differing hot green, red or yellow oxides. Unlike the smaller cabinet pulls there will not be a stem post mounting as the orchid perimeter petals will be flush with the door face. As the orchid is loosely based on the Venus slipper orchid it has a large stamen and labellum and together these will serve as the gripping point for the thumb and index fingers.

 Martin as readers will know begins a new piece with a front and side view drawn free hand on paper and this becomes the guide used to roughly cut the patterns in high density foam. The drawing details are then copied on to the rough patterns and then carved to create a three-dimensional piece. The new orchid will be cast in 3 pieces which will be welded together to create a single knob.

Custom Designed Door Hardware some common misunderstandings

During the Covid lock down and after weeks of cooking and reading many turned their energies to drawing designs on their mobile devices and in their sketch pads.

This explains why there has been a flood of emails from consumers and the occasional designer who have an idea for a custom door handle they would like made. In the next few posts, I will be tackling the progressive stages involved from taking a design idea to creating a functional door handle or door pull. These 2 types of hardware are not synonymous as a door handle needs to be designed and engineered so that the knob or lever parts can turn and latch whereas a door pull has no moving parts.

So, let’s begin with the design process and see what needs to be considered.

One design still on the drawing board

Martin Pierce is constantly drawing ideas for door pulls and these typically start with a doodle or sketch done old style with a pencil and sketch book. Many of you will be equally skilled using your mobile device to create a digital drawing and we can consider these provided they are either pdf or jpegs. Regardless of medium the sketch will only be useful if it includes a profile or side view that shows the shape and curvature of the piece and whether it is suitable to work as a grip or pull for your hand (see the palm tree design above) . If you can’t visualize and accurately draw the profile, then it is time for you to re-think your hobbies. However, if you think your design does have potential then please make sure to copyright it even if this is the home version of mailing yourself a copy noting the date and with your signature.

For the ambitious who set out to design a handle they must also design the rose or back-plate. If the handle is to be fixed, then the task is easier as the rose/plate simply must be wide enough to be fastened to the door with screws that will attach both the rose and the knob or lever that will be welded to it. The back-plate and knob/lever are separate castings, and I will explain in a subsequent post why they cannot be created as one casting as well as what additional design drawings are required for a functional door set.

The scale and dimensions of your handle need to be added to your design including the depth for your profile. The depth or thickness of your design will have a direct impact on the weight of the cast handle. The heavier the piece the higher the cost as more bronze or stainless steel will be used in casting.

Creative Use of Door Handles - In the Company of Art and Design

Carol Salb and Stacy Welch of Reddington Designs recently shared photos of a cabinet they designed using our Ergo door handles but with very original positioning.
The Ergo series, as it’s name suggests, focuses on functional shapes that are easy to grip and we hope pleasing to touch. To achieve an ergonomic shape we appreciate that left handed and right handed people will grip a pull differently. As a committed lefty who has spent many years coping with the challenges of a right hand world I was the ideal subject for Martin’s Ergo designs.

Andy Warhol’s Goethe Screen-prints - cabinet design and photo courtesy of Reddington Designs all rights reserved

We knew from Stacy and Carol that the Ergo handles needed to be customized in depth so that they projected less from the surface of the cabinet doors. What we didn’t realize is how they would re-position the handles to create a wonderfully fluid and visually interesting cabinet.
While the “handing” of each pull did not change the pulls were inverted but still retained their ergonomic design.

Ergo Entry Door Handle

The cabinet was designed by Carol and Stacy and made by Ayr Cabinets using a custom stain over rift oak. The piece has a lovely unorthodoxy and it’s upwards movement seems to defy gravity making it a perfect design for the pop-up TV it houses. The Ergo handles were originally designed as entry door handles but in the hands of a talented designer they can work equally well as cabinet door pulls.
The cabinet sits below 3 of Andy Warhol’s Goethe prints, a series based on the iconic painting of Goethe by Johann Tischbein.

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