CAMELOT DESIGN COMMISSIONS, BESPOKE FIREPLACES, FEATURE FIREPLACES
Every fire grate, Thermovent, canopy, dog iron, fire guard or fender we create is handmade to order for each client, but in the main we will design your items having discussed the broad direction with you. Its a joint endeavour. You may have seen what you like already from an item we have made for a customer before.
On occasion however you, or your client, may know exactly what you want and give us a very specific brief which we have to follow accurately. This is a commission as we have less influence on the final outcome than is normally the case. This can mean bigger technical challenges and new process or even suppliers where we have to research and find solutions. We do it quite often and it is the pinnacle of our work in many ways.
On this page we have included images of some the commissioned pieces we have created with a short description. If you know exactly what you would like, do please get in touch.
The fire basket shown to the left was a fire grate in a tapered fireplace design. The brief from Jacqui was for it to link with the design detail in the hand carved oak surround. It sits in a renovated castle and we named it the ‘Hanwell Fire Grate’
Every fire grate, Thermovent, canopy, dog iron, fire guard or fender we create is handmade to order for each client, but in the main we will design your items having discussed the broad direction with you. Its a joint endeavour.
On occasion however you, or your client, may know exactly what you want and give us a very specific brief which we have to follow accurately. This is a commission as we have less influence on the final outcome than is normally the case. We do it quite often and in many ways it is the pinnacle of our work .
On this page we have included images of some the commissioned pieces we have created with a short description. If you know exactly what you would like, do please get in touch.
DESIGN YOU CAN TRUST
You are at the centre of our proven design process
Based on our quotation and agreed description with reference images, once a deposit is paid we will develop a sketch of your fire basket, canopy or dog irons for you to review, revise and approve. Once we have agreement we will strike metal to create your unique piece of fireplace furniture.
Our design process has been refined over many years and never let us down (its has saved us a few times though). We’re confident whatever you might as us to create you will find a close alignment between your design and the finished piece.
Visit our Open Fires Design and Customer Fires pages to see many examples.
CUSTOMER COMMISSIONS
The canopy and fire grate commission to the right was specifically designed to a brief from an eatery branding agency for a new gastro pub. The design them they chose was a Forge.
The centre piece of the room, the fire had to contend with being open on four sides, not be affected by the kitchen extraction system and have an integrated fire guard system to keep customers safe. We also had to make use of the structural ‘I’ beam frame which is holding the roof up.
We used our accelerated aged steel on the canopy and sunken fire basket for an antique brown leather finish. The eatery opened on time in 2017. We named this fire hood and grate ‘Forge’
This fire basket commission was given to us by the partner of a client who we had created a Twin Skin canopy for in the drawing room at their significant country house in Surrey which had been re-modelled and enhanced over a three year project.
Her inspiration was another piece they already had in another room as they already had dog irons previously. Each upright is hand forged. We named this fire basket ‘Peoples Crown’ as the uprights resemble people. This was one of our more recent commissions that was delivered in 2019.
WE’RE HERE TO HELP WITH ANY FEATURE FIREPLACE!
Call us on 01905 820181
We love to talk open fires.
This canopy commission is a one of a pair we named ‘The Twins’ as they were both very similar but had multiple subtle differences. The brief was to create canopies that would have sufficient presence in these large vaulted arch stone fireplaces but would also work without a flue fan and match the rustic stonework. We were also briefed to create fire baskets to go under each which would compliment the decor in the inner hall and dining hall respectively. The fire grates also had to be able to accommodate 3 foot long logs for when receptions were being held.
Both canopies are 1.5 meters wide and are based on our unique twin skin design. They run on a 600mm into 450mm diameter chimneys all the way to the top. They also feature flue baffle controls to close off those ‘big lungs’ when not in use. Finally three side chainmail fire curtains hang from the canopy to keep the clients grand children safe when they visit.
This distinctive fire grate which we named ‘Glenure’ after the Scottish castle it was created for was part of a complete solution which again featured a twin skin canopy.
The Belgian owners of the castle had the canopy and fire grate designed initially by their interior designer in Belgium but the estates team in Scotland had to source and install them.
You can see the design sketch for this project earlier on this page. Apparently this is a classic Belgian fire grate design, but its simplicity and clean lines gave it real presence.
Named the ‘Copper Rocket’, this piece was a commission briefed to us as a pair of suspended canopies. The other was rectangular and also copper. The unusual fire places were already constructed and the installer had already specified the flue system and chimney fans that would be installed atop.
The client had spent a good few years renovating and re-modelling a series of connected ancient farm barns and farm house and these canopies were the centre pieces in the two main halls. They both feature flue baffle controls to close off the canopy when not in use. This distinct canopy was delivered in 2016.
We named this pair of floret dog irons ‘Jacqui’ after the lady who commissioned them. Jacqui had a very clear vision for these dog irons having been inspired by a pair she had seen on a art tour around Europe. Jacqui was a real advocate of craftsmen and loved to create meaningful and challenging commissions and we were delighted to have the chance to respond to this one.
The attention to detail Jacqui gave in this commission instilled a very creative process between us even down to the hand etched detail and forged blued finish with oiled top coat on each of the florets.
These dog irons along with the hand made one off dragons teeth swans nest fire grate were delivered in 2018.
The commission for this canopy was from an interior designer who had purchased a pub in the village he grew up in to save it from closure. With his background he had a very clear idea of the style of canopy he wanted including a rustic finish.
The canopy is a twin skin design as the chimney system could only be 8 inches diameter. Due to the simple and almost brutal presence of the canopy we named it ‘Brutalism’ and was installed in the winter of 2017.
The final element in the creation of this new fireplace in the billiard room was this club fender. As with the fire grate commission the brief was to link the design to the hand carved fire surround and the fire basket we had created to a similar brief. We named it ‘Hanwell Fender’
The British Racing Green leather seat sits atop a hand welded and finished steel frame design with access space in the centre to tend the fire. The client specifically requested the wider deeper seat and the fender was delivered in 2018.
Lovely and warm!
“Just a note to let you know that the fire is working perfectly. The smoke whooshes up the chimney and we are lovely and warm to boot.”
Elaine, Worcestershire
This commission came from the managing agent for a multi-million pound renovation of a listed hotel in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon.
We created each of the four open fires at The Falcon Hotel but the requirement for three of them from the conservation officer was the design had to match the fires that had been taken out (but had been condemned). The added complication was that the work to the chimneys had left all on a 200mm chimney and a commercial kitchen extraction was in use in the building.
We matched the original fire design by significant re-work of our Thermovent woodburning convector fire to look very similar to the original but work and meet the latest building regulations. All four Thermovents were delivered in the spring of 2019.
This feature fireplace commission was from a local entrepreneur in the North West who had bought his local pub to save it from closure and undertaken a significant renovation and modernisation – however he was determined to have a double sided open fire in the centre of the eatery as the fireplace design.
Our client had determined that The Inn at Huxley would have a traditional and hand made theme throughout and that was our brief for this hand forged double sided fire basket with four integrated spit dog irons. We named this fire basket ‘The Four Sided Inn’ and it was delivered in 2015.
Having been introduced by a branding agency we had worked with previously, this small but growing boutique chain of ‘Smokehouse’ eateries wanted a bespoke fireplace grill as the centre piece of a fireplace design as what they described as ‘front of house theatre’. The management team had been inspired to pursue this for the first time following a research trip to the US where they had seen such smoke house grills in use.
As a project this tested all our open fire, design and craftsmanship the limits and we maintained very clear communications with the client as we developed and delivered our response.
The Twin Skin conical canopy with rusted and coated finish sat over a bespoke fireplace design for the fire pit and grill which was surrounded by the stonework you can see. This project was delivered in 2017 with the name ‘Smokehouse Grill’
This bespoke fireplace is, unusually for today, in a bedroom. The Camelot Design commission from the client was to create a fire basket that would link it to the building as part of the narrative of the recent extension to this history building.
One of the key features of the wing this bedroom was in was hand carved stone finials above the ornate bay windows. These were the design inspiration for the dog irons and the shape of the bay window for the profile of the front bars of the fire basket.
This fire basket was delivered in 2018 and we named it the ‘James’ Firegrate.
Sometimes we are commissioned to produced accompanying pieces along side our work around a fireplace design.
This client commissioned a Camelot design half log cradle to match the ball top dog irons we were to make to sit underneath a copper canopy we were to make.
As you can see the swan neck ball top matched the dog irons and created a much better wood store than the customer had previously. We named this cradle ‘Sled’ as it reminded us of one. It was delivered in 2019
The sister canopy to this feature fireplace commission is what we named ‘Copper Rocket’. This piece we named ‘Copper Belle’ due to its silhouette shape.
The unusual fire places were already constructed and the installer had already specified the flue system and chimney fans that would be installed atop.
The client had spent a good few years renovating and re-modelling a series of connected ancient farm barns and farm house and these canopies were the centre pieces in the two main halls. They both feature flue baffle controls to close off the canopy when not in use. The canopy was delivered in 2016.
WE’RE HERE TO HELP WITH ANY FEATURE FIREPLACE!
Call us on 01905 820181
We love to talk open fires.
Sometimes we are asked to a respond to very exact briefs as a commission. In this case the specifier we worked with took control of the design of the canopy for the main reception in a multi million pound hotel development in Dorset.
We were given a very specific design and material specification and required to produce this sample corner of the canopy are part of the design approval process. We named this canopy ‘Heavy Copper’ as due to the materials in use that’s exactly what it was. This project is still live in 2019.
As a Camelot design Thermovent woodburning open fire this piece is in many ways not a commission – except the client was very specific in the canopy materials.
The Inglenook style polished brass canopy is still the only one of its kind we have made since we began making canopies almost 50 years ago. The canopy is as with all out copper and brass canopies formed onto a steel buck that stays in place once the canopy is made. This adds strength and protects the brass from the worst of the direct heat which helps to reduce rainbow discolouration from the heat of the fire. This can be polished off but is just another thing to do that can be avoided.
This Thermovent, which was simply called ‘Brass Inglenook’ was delivered up to Northumbria in 2014.
The Modern Design Fire was developed as part of a project with a design graduate, with the aim of creating something different to our traditional methods, expressive of a modern and vibrant style. We knew of new and innovative ways of working with metal, this combined with our love of design and open fires resulted in the birth of the Design Fire. The Design Fire consisted of solid laser cutting of intricate designs, partnered with a bold silhouette and bright coloured layer underneath to create a distinctive fireplace to cater for customers with a more modern taste!