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Matilda Goad is on a DIY mission. The London homeware designer best known for her scalloped lamp shades set her sights on hardware in 2022, launching a collection of rainbow-coloured handles and doorknobs that swiftly sold out. This month sees her open the doors of MG&Co Hardware store, a pop-up of pristine practicality in Notting Hill. “It’s not considered glamorous, but it’s really important,” says Goad of the metal details. “Often when you’re renovating an interior on a budget, it gets skimped on, but it really is the final layer on the cake.”
The shop will stock her line of doorknobs, handles, hooks and backplates (from £12), which have been designed in a pleasingly offbeat palette including lacquered pistachio, cherry and citron and in metal finishes from brass to blackened bronze. Parts can be mixed and matched in hundreds of combinations: a clover-motif brass backplate with a brick-coloured cupboard handle, or a nickel star-shaped backplate with matching silver door handle. “Hardware is often dull or expensive; we’re filling the gap in the affordable design market for these really useful, practical but beautiful pieces,” she says.
Inside, the interior draws on the raw materials of traditional hardware shops. Everything from her bamboo handles to her silver star hooks will be displayed on peg boards. Customers are encouraged to arrive with project photos so staff can advise. Goad will be on hand to answer questions, too.
For the month-long opening, the store will also host a series of workshops where visitors can learn about knife sharpening with the gardening-tool brand Niwaki, or the fundamentals of drilling. “We’re part of a generation that’s used to outsourcing,” says Goad. “But there’s nothing more satisfying than just being able to get the job done.” Do-it-yourself, but make it chic.
5 to 26 September. MG&Co Hardware, 19 Kensington Park Road, London W11
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