An award-winning Vancouver interior designer, Glenn Washburn, has launched a line of unique, hand-welded door handles, to be featured at The National Kitchen + Bath Association’s (NKBA) Kitchen & Bath Industry Show® (KBIS) in late January 2023 in Las Vegas.
“The design of these handles took months of engineering to figure out how to create their unique shape without breaking during the welding process. The only way was to do it by hand. From there I found an opportunity to scale the production process, so they could be used in large-scale projects, such as new high rises,” explains Washburn, who opened for business in 2019.
Washburn is the founder of JWL Home – a name he coined after the shape of his door handles and cabinet hardware. The products form geometric, squared ‘J’ and ‘L’ shapes – a design that is hard to come by in the industry.
“The handles were made to be modular and configurable in a variety of ways,” explains Washburn. “You could take a ‘J’ and ‘L’ and have them mirror each other horizontally or vertically, for example.”
“They are totally novel in that most designers have never seen anything like them before,” he continues.
The shape of the handles are not the only attraction to his product. He says he made them to be ergonomic with curved backsides that can be gripped from any corner.
Washburn also focused on durability by using 304 solid stainless steel (an industrial-strength grade). He says each handle uses superior methods of electroplating, as well as oven-baked enamels and PVD coatings, to withstand the rough-and-tough use of commercial spaces and kitchens.
While he launched his stainless steel line in 2020, the company’s wood handles will be launched in 2023. He says they’ll feature the similar strength attributes since their core will be made of steel.
Washburn’s attention to detail is what he believes will cause his product to take off.
“As an interior designer myself, I know everything about the process of selecting hardware pieces to complete an aesthetic within a home.
“Designers think about everything. We look at small things, like the finish of our fixtures. Or the outer and inner profile of handles. Are they squared off or rounded? Are they ergonomic and practical? Will they last? It all comes into play in our projects,” explains Washburn.
Washburn himself has a background in interior design. His handles were used exclusively in two, first-place, award-winning projects he designed. Accolades include the Home Builders Association of Vancouver: Best Interior Design New Custom Residence (Whole Home) and the Canadian Home Builders Association {National Award for Housing Excellence}: Best Detached Custom Home.
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Contact information:
1 (604) 788–9492
https://www.facebook.com/JWLhome