Bespoke Metalwork Dorset
FRD Designers & Makers have over 30 years experience in bespoke metal work in Dorset, designing for, and collaborating with, leading designers, interior designers, architects and private clients creating a huge variety of custom made items from metal bridges to entire metal product ranges.
We regularly work with other crafts people such as cabinet makers, stone masons, glass blowers and formers, as well as leatherworkers and upholsterers.
Our head office, design studio and bespoke metal workshop are located on the St. Giles Estate in Wimborne St. Giles, Dorset, close to the borders with Wiltshire’s rolling chalk downland and Hampshire’s New Forest. We work throughout the UK as well as internationally, but the magnificent Dorset countryside is our home, we are constantly inspired by our Dorset landscape and the architecture of the period homes found throughout the county. With its beautiful coastline, found at The Isle of Purbeck, The Jurassic Coast and Brownsea Island, Dorset is a uniquely rural county with no cities or motorways.
Closer to home our Dorset bespoke metalwork projects have included metal gates and staircase balustrades for private period homes. Our work in Dorset’s more public settings include the copper cupolas and finials to William Gronow Davis' 65ft tall Mughal inspired folly at Larmer Tree Gardens. We regularly collaborate with other leading Dorset brands such as Little Halstock.
FRD Designers & Makers offer a unique and personal service whether you are a private client or larger brand. Our approach to each design remains the same offering personal guidance through the whole process from design through to completion.
Dorset’s History of Metal work
Dorset has a rich history of metal working with discoveries of Bronze Age axe hoards, rare finds of gold work like The Crichel Hoard, A hoard of "exceptionally rare" 3,000-year-old gold ornaments, found by metal detectorists a few miles from our head office near Long Crichel, demonstrating the sophisticated skills of Dorset's Bronze Age metalworkers and their access to precious metals.
Iron age hill forts such as Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, offer evidence of metalworking, while The Isle of Purbeck was a centre for shale working during the Iron Age and Roman periods.
The Bulbury hoard, discovered in 1881 dating to the early first century AD, contains a mix of iron, bronze, and glass items, potentially representing fittings from burials and an ironsmith's stock. Later periods include iron foundries in Poole, with the last one closing in the 1980s.
The historic towns of Sherborne, with its historic castle Built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594, Shaftesbury, Bridport, Weymouth, all offer a variety of period architectural styles from Georgian to Victorian. While to the east Poole, Christchurch and Bournemouth are towns with more contemporary and modern buildings. Our In-house team of designers and metal workers have the experience to produce pieces that reflect the range of periods and styles; from ornate 17th century candelabra to highly polished contemporary glass and steel balustrades. We understand the many challenges of making in metal and pride ourselves on the high quality of our work, with many of our clients returning to us time and time again.