Architectural Ironmongery

Architectural Ironmongery has been supplying its huge range of door, window and gate furniture to Ross-on-Wye and much further afield for 20 years now. Originally a joinery, that part of the business was wound up four years ago to concentrate on the shop.

Demand has been growing ever since, with the business now employing four full time staff. Around 25 per cent of business is walk-in, the rest internet and mail order-based. 'We deal with everybody - we're completely independent,' says Roger Arnold, one of the directors. 'The big outlets are geared towards one supplier, which is where they get their discount, but we're not into that. For us it's about the best products at the best prices, and having been joiners means we have specialist knowledge of how the products are fitted so we're very much able to help people find the best items to suit their needs.'

The shop caters predominantly to end users - people who want to do up their homes - rather than the building trade. As well as a vast selection of handles, latches and locks, there are electrical and bathroom fittings, bells and brassware and much more besides. Around a quarter of the stock is produced in the UK, particularly the west Midlands - where all of the shop's malleable iron products are hand made - with the rest imported. 'We advertise in glossy magazines and on search engines, but we've also got a very loyal local clientele,' he says. 'The web means a lot of our orders now come from overseas - we've got customers all over the world - and that's become an important part of our business.'

So what's it like living and trading in Ross? 'It's beautiful,' he says. 'When you've lived here a while you almost tend not to notice it, but it's an extremely gorgeous area, there's no doubt about that.'