Casting deVOL Taps in the Foundry
30th April 2021
It was over five years ago now that we first dreamt of creating our own taps. A great set of taps can completely make a kitchen and it was always the vintage brass styles that caught our eye, but they’re just so hard to find in good working order. The idea of making something that looked old but worked like new was just too good to pass up so we reached out to English tapware company, Perrin & Rowe, to help us create a collection in our very own deVOL Aged Brass finish. These taps have become a staple in our customers’ kitchens and in so many homes all over the world. They’ve been featured in the World of Interiors, House and Garden, Elle Deco, Country Living, Remodelista and so many other incredible interiors blogs and magazines. I may be biased, but I really do think they are the best taps and there is nothing quite like them out there.
It’s funny really, most of us have used a tap almost every day of our lives but how many of us know how they’re actually made?! I’m always fascinated by the process of creating something beautiful and functional, to watch the experts at work and the craftsmanship that goes into making these everyday things, it’s mesmerising. So I wanted to give you a peep behind the scenes to see how our iconic Ionian taps are made…
Like our furniture, deVOL taps are made using traditional methods, we embrace the use of modern machinery but often the old ways are the best. The iron mould is prepared for casting by inserting sand cores, which form the internal waterways in the tap. The mould is then closed and the molten brass is ladled into the mould at nearly 1000 degrees Celsius. The brass cools very quickly in the mould and can be opened after just a minute, leaving the fresh, but still extremely hot, casting.
This casting forms the body of our Ionian taps, the sprues where the metal has been poured are cut off and the taps are machined to receive the valves and fittings. All the shaping and polishing of the rough castings is done by hand by highly skilled polishers. This process is done by eye and, as with many stages of tap making, it is dependent on the skill of the craftsmen to ensure the perfect finish.
This is something that is so important to us, the beautifully smooth, mottled finish is what makes these taps unique and so special. They have no lacquer or plating on them, we just speed up the aging process to give a subtle aged look to the bare brass. This is why they look so authentic and only get better with time and use.
There’s a lot of work that goes into crafting these beauties and we can’t thank Perrin & Rowe enough for working with us to create our dream taps and for sharing these fascinating behind the scenes images with us.
We now have five amazing deVOL Aged Brass Taps, here’s a look at the full collection…
deVOL AGED BRASS IONIAN TAP – available with or without a rinse
deVOL AGED BRASS POT FILLER TAP
deVOL AGED BRASS PARTHIAN MINI INSTANT HOT TAP
– Click here to check out our full tap collection on our new online shop.
