Meet Ellis Works, a classy new {hardware} firm from a former West Elm govt

A recent crop of {hardware} corporations has emerged lately with a easy query: can humble cupboard pulls and knobs be a brand new medium for daring aesthetic expression? The problem: to not let kind overpower operate; wild, outsized shapes should not impede precise every day use. Ellis Works, lately based by Alex Bellos, the previous president of retail model West Elm and CEO of lighting and life-style items agency Schoolhouse, is making an attempt to bridge the hole between type and substance by turning artwork into product.

‘Numerous abilities are creating stunning sculptural types, however when it comes all the way down to it, these designs are being launched into our kitchens and loos,’ Bellos says. ‘I need to push ahead creative exploration but in addition be sure that the outcomes work.’

Ellis Works is predicated in a workshop within the Sundown Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn. From right here, the corporate’s rigorously curated collection of pulls, handles and knobs – principally imagined by a good roster of native artists – is produced. They’re made in several sizes and mounting types and in ten supplies, from up to date finishes like brass and nickel, to patinas like verdigris and vintage.

‘We’re attempting to resolve issues, assist architects and inside designers have flexibility, all whereas sustaining our viewpoint,’ Bellos says. ‘Everybody loves edge pulls, however they’re arduous to put in, so what we did is develop a design that appears like this typology however would not should be mortised-in.’ Designed in-house, the easy-to-mount ‘Throop’ assortment, for instance, is outlined by a streamlined wave form that permits it to operate correctly with out having to be anchored on prime of the mass of a cupboard door.

Although it would appear to be Ellis Works is a profession pivot for Bellos, he truly first forayed into the product class when taking up Rejuvenation {Hardware} 12 years in the past. ‘What I used to be significantly drawn to was the model’s historical past; going via its archive and pulling out a Sears catalogue from 1904 and seeing what could possibly be introduced again to life,’ he provides.

He spent 14 years at West Elm, the place, on turning into president in 2017, he introduced income up $2 billion. He moved to Food52 in 2022 however departed as firm CEO in 2023 (Food52, the dad or mum firm of sister manufacturers Dansk and Schoolhouse, filed for chapter in December 2025).

Bellos remembers considering, ‘I’ve virtually 20 years of expertise within the dwelling furnishings trade; how can I take established traditions but in addition my very own acquired data and apply it in new ways in which make sense?’

The potential of {hardware} had that particular pull. ‘Since my time at Rejuvenation, I’ve beloved the class,’ he says. ‘For one, it’s the actual jewelry of the house. It’s additionally one of many solely belongings you work together with consistently. The sensation of a brass knob in your kitchen or rest room adjustments your notion of those environments.’

Bellos established Ellis Works on the finish of 2025. Its identify and ethos are an homage to his great-grandfather, an Austro-Hungarian immigrant who, like thousands and thousands of individuals, got here via Ellis Island to begin a brand new life, ultimately beginning a butcher store in Ridgewood, Queens.

Like his ancestors, Bellos sees worth in old-world strategies; for him, there’s a particular sort of magic intrinsic to {hardware}, that high-design may be distilled into small packages. Take a current collaboration with the Brooklyn-based silversmith Heath Wagoner. For the ‘Tessuto Cupboard Knob’, the designer created jewellery-like pulls that resemble flowing materials straight from a Caravvagio portray. ‘[Heath] can do an experimental wax casting in his studio and we are able to deliver that to market just about precisely as he’s completed it,’ Bellos stated.

Ellis Works is a lean operation for now – it’s simply Bellos, a product technician and a talented artisan. ‘We have now the flexibleness to check out new concepts, play and collaborate with nice individuals,’ Bellos says. ‘There’s a spirit of partnership each on the front and back finish of the method; with the skills we fee and the architects and inside designers that spec our merchandise. I like the private facet; having the ability to speak to everybody concerned.’

Wagoner isn’t the one collaborator. Artist and designer Jonathan Mergele has created ‘Ferrea’, a group of {hardware} that resembles knots, the results of a visit to Portugal and observing how artisans created a cathedral grate. Kalen Kaminski, founding father of multidisciplinary observe GONE, has contributed Portal, a collection of mesmerising hand-blown glass knobs.

Throughout New York Design Week, Ellis Works has teamed up with Canal Avenue life-style model William White to stage an immersive set up that demonstrates how the {hardware} can be utilized to help totally different every day duties. Additionally launching as a part of the showcase is Scottish studio potter Joshua Williams’ all-ceramic ‘Cairnsmore’ cupboard knob.

This artistic potential – that top design may be delivered in small packages – thrills Bellos. And he hints that there might even be extra product classes in retailer for Ellis Works: ‘When beginning the corporate, I used to be very particular concerning the concept of door and cupboard {hardware} being practical items,’ he says. Now, he continues, the query has develop into, ‘what are different practical items within the dwelling?

‘What are different alternatives to experiment and play with virtually any kind of object that’s screwed into the wall?’