Bespoke Door Hardware

Artist Patty B. Driscoll launches Agatha Studio, a collection of expressive brass door hardware
Agatha Studio brass door knocker by artist Patty B. Driscoll. Depicting a Regency dolphin, the knocker is mounted on a black tongue-and-groove wooden door, photographed with blue hydrangea flowers
Photo by Laurey Glenn

Birmingham, Alabama–based fine artist Patty B. Driscoll introduces a new outlet for her considerable talents with Agatha Studio, a collection of expressive brass door hardware that goes well beyond the expected to impart personality, history, and craftsmanship to an everyday piece of decor. She took care to understand the process first, learning the art at the famed Penland School of Craft.

“I was particularly inspired by the Regency dolphins that support the table in my entry,” says Patty B. “I knew they’d make beautiful hardware.”

She started sculpting wax models, fueled by the idea that these pieces would be more than tools to signal a guest’s arrival. “I think that they are reflections of the family on the other side of the door—their aesthetic, as well as their interests,” says the artist. We promise you won’t look at a door knocker the same ever again. Prices upon request. agathastudio.com

Agatha Studio bird-shaped brass door knocker
Photos by Becky Luigart-Stayner
Brass door knocker shaped like a hand holding a pear

A Look Back

Years before founding Agatha Studio, Patty crafted the door hardware for her own dining room. To see more from the artist’s home, read “Coming Up Roses.”

Double doors open to reveal a dining room papered in a custom, soft blue-green Gracie wallpaper, with an crystal chandelier and ornate gilt mirror
Photo by Laurey W. Glenn

By Alice Welsh Doyle

On the Cover: The inviting living room at Brierfield Farm, our countryside showhouse, exudes warm and comfort with a palette that takes its cue from the surrounding setting. Photographed by David Hillegas.

This story appears in Flower magazine’s September/October 2021 issue on newsstands August 31. Subscribe or find a copy in a store near you.

More Decorative Hardware

Kravet Furniture’s collaboration with jewelry design firm Addison Weeks unleashes the creative possibilities of luxury hardware. Read story.