Jay Doolan is passionate about her family business, founded by her father in 1980. Now 80 years old, Jay’s father still runs the business and works every day from home. “He’s a workaholic really,” explains Jay. “He is a metallurgist and a casting man by trade, so very early on he established our overseas factories that manufacture all of our components. Every aspect of the manufacturing process is quality controlled by us. The pieces are shipped to Australia in component form and all of the customisation happens in our own warehouse in Melbourne. It allows our clients to select any piece and combine them with any plate or detail, so each item is totally customised here.”
The Domino Brass range of brass components is the largest in the market, in fact none of their competitors come anywhere close in terms of the breadth of the range that is self-manufactured. With over 21,000 off-the-shelf customisable architectural fittings available in a range of finishes, there is something to suit every project and purpose. The fittings are available in aged brass, antique bronze, nickel plates, satin chrome, bright chrome, unlacquered brass, polished brass and powder-coated colours.
“We do everything! Our favourite collection is the door hardware range, but we do custom grill work for vents or floors, postal fittings, numbers and letters, joinery hardware, window fittings, curtain fittings and accessories like door stops, edge pulls and hinges. We provide all of the auxiliary items required for a build that people tend to take for granted or overlook. It’s these details that make all the difference to a design, and the beauty of what we do is that we can provide one finish throughout the home without shade variation.”
The defining factor of the Domino Brass collection is that each piece is made from solid brass. For the consumer that means that the product lasts. With a core of stainless steel, they won’t wear or rust, regardless of heat, cold, sea or salt. “We spend our time developing authentic designs that we know will stand the test of time – whilst still being in line with contemporary aesthetics and modern locking system requirements. Transforming traditional features to suit today’s lifestyles is where we really excel.”
“What I love most is that we have stayed true to ourselves, and we have stayed up to date with what is happening in the market. This is largely because we manufacture our own product, and we can change or adapt or introduce new products with a quick turnaround time. New finishes come into vogue, and we can bring these into our collection overnight if we believe in them and feel they are going to last. Being a metallurgist, my father understands how finishes will function over time and with use. Because of his knowledge and expertise, and because we have total control of the manufacturing and finish processes, we can be flexible, we can stay up to date, we can be current with our designs and we can custom-make pieces for clients.”
The relationship between KWD and Domino Brass really developed during the design phase of Beechwood, which was Kate’s home. Says Jay. “I had been a huge fan of Kate’s work. I loved her designs so I approached the KWD team and explained what we do as a small family business – that we design and manufacture our own product and that we offer our clients pieces that are made with integrity, that feel beautiful to the touch and that will last. They fully embraced our collection and gave us a go which we are really grateful for. We love working with quality conscious clients like KWD.”
Jay has now worked closely with Kate and the design team on a number of KWD projects, the latest one being Kate’s new home, Biscayne. “Kate trusts us and knows that we can help her create the aesthetic she wants to achieve. Biscayne has been a fantastic project to work on. I put forward suggestions that I believed would work for the look she wanted to create. Kate loves to develop different finishes for her projects that bring something new and unique to the design and our wide custom range allows for this which is why we work so well together. For Biscayne’s Caribbean Colonial feel we wanted to create a glam, aged, weathered brass patinated finish that works so well with the incredible colour palette of the home. The magical element of what we created with this finish is that is ages as the house ages, and we applied this to every fitting in the home from hinges to door stops to door hardware and to window fittings – every element was treated to achieve that aged finish and the end of result is simply beautiful.”
Says Kate, “Jay absolutely loves creating new finishes with us and she is always open to developing something new and interesting that will specifically suit a project. We love that she and her father operate a wonderful family business, and we always try our best to support local businesses, and in particular women in business.”
The story of Biscayne is coming soon…