Metal curtain poles

[vicky whitworth]

I'm at my wit's end over my bedroom curtain poles. I had a local blacksmith make the first lot back in the Summer. It took him months, he never kept in touch but I loved the end result. Then I needed three more poles so instead of going back to him because of how long he took I asked a local man well known in our village. He said he could do them in two weeks, after two weeks he said he'd broken some ribs and he'd do them in four week, then he started asking me where he should go to get the curtain rings, and he suggested Focus (which isn't at all the type of thing - the first bloke handmade the rings). So they were promised for the last week in December. Since then I have rung him every day and got no reply. People here think he's gone abroad for the Winter. He's also got the pole made by the first bloke to use as a template.

I am thoroughly fed up with it. I have my curtains drawing pinned up at the moment.

I don't know where he lives so I can't go round. I want my curtain pole back, and then to find someone reliable to do the job.

Anyone know any good curtain pole makers local to Devon? They're not fancy poles. I don't want black, just grey metal.

 

[Feltwell]

Hi Vicky - not at all local to you, but try Stuart at Genuine Forgery. He's excellent, and will do mail order. Don't expect them tomorrow though - made by hand to your specification means waiting! Probably no more than 4 weeks though. Give him a call and see what his lead time is currently.

Rubbish website, but his poles are excellent!

http://www.genuineforgery.com/

Lots of recommendations for him on this recent thread:-

http://periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10953&hilit=curtain+poles

Not sure you'll get them in anything other than black though.

 

[wobs]

Nigel Tyas's stuff looks rather go:
http://www.nigeltyas.co.uk/wrought_iron_curtain_poles.htm

Non-black available.

 

[MdB]

Put up today:

Produced by Stuart at Genuine Forgery in a timescale that matched what he said he would do. We also have some different styles for the other windows but it will be a while before they go up.

 

[JoceAndChris]

That's nice MdB!

 

[Feltwell]

Looks good Mdb! Is it the camera angle or is that a very long pole? We have a 11' pole in our dining room, at that length I'd definitely fit a centre bracket. You can soon ask him to make you one if you find the pole is flexing.

I take it he told you about how best to hold the pole into the bracket to stop it sliding as you move the curtains? A blob of clear silicone sealant. Sounds a bit rough I know, but it works just fine. I used a spot of LSX plumbing sealant 2 years ago, it's held no problem.

 

[MdB]

I spoke to Stuart about needing a centre support. He thought it would be fine without but if needed an extra bracket could be made up later as you say. The curtains aren't up yet to see if there is too much bounce so we will find out if there is an issue later. The distance between brackets is 2.2m so not as long as yours, the camera angle makes it look longer.

Thanks for the tip re silicon. I'll do that if needed.

 

[Trudi Petersen]

Our blacksmithing business Ferric Fusion (http://www.ferricfusion.co.uk) is always happy to help if we can. We are a small outfit based in West Wales. Aaron, the smith is an ex museum blacksmith with a good knowledge of historical iron work, both technical and contextual. We dont actually have any poles on our site at present (the site is quite new) but Aaron has made loads over the years including specialist ones for difficult to fit spaces. We also run small scale, one and two day, teaching and training courses in hot forging which might be of interest to period property owners. Why not have a go yourself? The courses are suitable for beginners and are small - never more than four people at a time, (usually two. sometimes just one). We tend to run them over weekends and on Thur/Fri. The cost does not include accommodation but we can advise on this. The forge is close to the West Wales coast, Tenby, Laugharne, Pendine, etc. You may want to make a long weekend of it and take an extra day or two to enjoy the scenery.

 

[Wren]

Dear Vicky

I have bought some absolutely beautiful curtain poles from this man:

http://opoco.co.uk/tigwell/rails.html
http://opoco.co.uk/tigwell/index.html


Based in Cornwall not Devon, but he does mail order. Last placed an order with him several years ago for some curtain poles in our previous house (one in black iron, and another in bright steel). Ordered them in a bit of a rush some time in December, and also wanted a slightly amended version of one of his designs. He knew exactly what I was after, and managed to get them to me before Christmas. (It is difficult to say how perfect they were without sounding like a bit of a curtain pole fanatic.)

Regards Wren

 

[vicky whitworth]

My curtain poles have arrived and they are exactly what I was after so thank you Feltwell for recommending Stuart at Genuine Forgery. He was a pleasure to deal with. Isn't good customer service great when you get it?This afternoon's job is the screw the first one up. They will be a lot of cursing coming from here in Devon shortly!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Exciting! Enjoy your new curtains!

 

[Feltwell]

Glad you're pleased with them Vicky. He's just done a shop counter for a friend opening a print & web design business - so you never know, he may even get a decent website to show his work at some point!