This week I have the honour of introducing you to one of my favourite design brands here in London, which has been around for over 20 years.
House of Eroju, a luxury design studio offering a unique range of architectural ironmongery products and door furniture, was founded in 1997 in London by brothers Keji and Tunde Eroju. The ethos was to reconcile the realms of design and manufacture, combining individual craftsmanship with precision engineering.
Although both brothers had a creative flair for design, the decision to start the business and specialise in architectural ironmongery was birthed after the duo was presented with the challenge of hand-weaving leather strips onto 3-meter length cylindrical Iroko handles. This gave birth to their interest in exploring the world of architectural ironmongery combining the use of natural materials with steel as an expression of their creative prowess.
Alongside their unique range of door handles, escutcheons, coat hooks and handrails, House of Eroju also offers a bespoke design service where customisation of individual items and products can be combined from leather, concrete, slate, marble and wood with different stitching variations and steel finishes.
Over the past 20 years, the brothers have worked with some of the leading international names in architecture, including Patel Taylor Architects, Gensler, MoreySmith Architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and RHWL Architects.
And their products can be found in luxury private homes, yachts, design hotels, restaurants, aviation and Royal Palaces.
Tunji explains: “Our London studio combines the design of both high-quality craftsmanship and high-tech precision-engineered processes. At House of Eroju, artisanal skills and expertise are kept very much alive. Our leather products are hand-woven, hand-covered and hand-stitched. These skills often rely on traditional tools and only a few British houses can claim to have such level of craftsmanship.”
All House of Eroju products are made from the highest quality of flawless skins by expert tanners. At the cutting stage, each skin is subjected to quality testing to ensure absolute precision. The leathers use natural tanning products and vegetable dyes. This process on the natural tanned products is the only form of protection they use in creating leather with exceptional lustre and richness of colour.
For the stitching, House of Eroju favour waxed linen twisted thread over plastic and nylons to allow long-lasting protection from the elements and wear. Hand-stitching methods incorporate double-lock stitching techniques and every stitch is knotted to prevent running.
The pull handles use high-grade 316 stainless steel designed to conceal a strength and durability suited to the most arduous of environments.
At House of Eroju, the artisanal skills and expertise are inspired by architecture. Whilst architecture is about space and light, the handle is about form, touch, texture and hold and the only component in the building which privileges the sense of touch.
This has been one of the House of Eroju’s central preoccupations, hence the use of different materials and application techniques from leather, marble, concrete to the use of woods, as well as the incorporation of traditional weaving and wrapping techniques on to architectural hardware which best reflects the spaces they inhabit.
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