Your Guide to Working With Artisans

At Francone Bespoke Taps, we take immense pride in our Northern Italian heritage. The Piemonte region is renowned for its mastery in metalwork, particularly in brass. In this article, we'll explore all the benefits of working with artisans, as well as some points to consider as a normal part of the process of creating customised products in living finishes. 

Why Choose Francone Bespoke Taps?

Unparalleled Craftsmanship: Our team at Francone Bespoke Taps consists of skilled artisans who have perfected their craft over decades, often within family-run workshops. This deep-seated expertise ensures that every fixture we create is a masterpiece, meticulously crafted to meet the highest standards.

A Legacy of Tradition: Northern Italy is the birthplace of some of the world’s most revered metalworking techniques, and at Francone, we proudly continue this legacy. Our work is a fusion of time-honoured methods and innovative design, allowing us to create fixtures that are both timeless and contemporary.

Complete Customisation: Our bespoke service allows you to customise almost every aspect of your brass fixtures, from dimensions and finishes to intricate design details.

Superior Quality Materials: We use only the finest solid brass, sourced locally from trusted suppliers, ensuring that our products are both beautiful and durable. Our unlacquered brass is particularly prized for its ability to develop a natural patina over time, adding character and a unique touch to your fixtures. We are also soon to launch a range of products in stainless steel.

Commitment to Sustainability: Sustainability is at the heart of our production process. At Francone Bespoke Taps, we prioritise responsible sourcing, minimise waste, and utilise traditional techniques that are inherently more sustainable than modern industrial methods.

Navigating the Process

While the benefits of working with Francone Bespoke Taps are many, we understand that the bespoke process can present some challenges.

Understanding Lead Times: Crafting bespoke brass fixtures is a meticulous process that takes time. Whilst we retain stock for most products in unlacquered brass, each custom piece is made to order, allowing us to perfect every detail according to your specifications. While this means lead times may be longer than off-the-shelf options, the result is a fixture that is truly unique and of the highest quality. We work closely with you to set realistic timelines and ensure clear communication throughout the process.

Unlacquered brass is our most popular finish and has a lead time of around 3-6 weeks. For all of our other finishes and for custom work, we recommend to plan for a lead time of 12-16 weeks. Though this can seem like a long time, it's helpful to understand why this is the case.

All of our brass products start off as unlacquered brass. When we want to create a product in one of the other finishes, there are a number of stages the products go through, involving more than one workshop. Products in a disassembled state are sent for finishing in one or two stages; then they need to be reassembled, sometimes polished again; and finally, they will be quality tested. As you can appreciate, this can result in orders getting delayed.

Though we try to build slippage time into our lead times, unfortunately, orders can take longer than planned, and this is because we want to ensure that everything is perfect before it reaches our clients. It's for this reason that we advise customers not to book in firm dates with tradespeople until all of the products arrive and have been inspected on site. We know it can make planning renovations a bit tricky, but it needs to be factored in when working with artisanal products.

Clear Communication: We recognise that effective communication is crucial to the success of any project, especially when it comes to bespoke design.

We will do whatever we can to minimise delays and we will communicate issues with you, but please understand that the process of making artisan-made products is not the same as that for products mass-produced in factories. 

Investing in Quality: Bespoke craftsmanship comes with a higher cost, reflecting the time, skill, and premium materials involved in creating each piece. At Francone Bespoke Taps, we believe that this investment is justified by the superior quality and timeless appeal of our products.

Appreciating the Patina: Our unlacquered finishes are designed to age gracefully, developing a natural patina that adds depth and character to your fixtures. This evolving beauty is a hallmark of our products, offering a dynamic and living finish that changes over time.

Embracing Handcrafted Variability: At Francone, we celebrate the uniqueness of craftmanship. Due to our artisanal process, there may be a slight variation from one item to the next. This variability is part of the charm of bespoke craftsmanship, resulting in fixtures that have their own distinct character. We encourage our clients to embrace these subtle differences, as they contribute to the individuality and beauty of each piece.

Choosing Francone Bespoke Taps means investing in timeless Italian craftsmanship, bringing a unique, personal touch to your home that will be cherished for years.