The beginnings of The Holbein Company date back to 1972 when “L & S Services” was established in Tooting, South London, by Frank Swann and Alf Larratt as a supplier of contract curtain tracks and hand stained and painted wood poles to curtain makers throughout London and the South East of England.
Customers included leading curtain makers such as Albert E Chapman, through whom many L & S products were used in royal and heritage buildings throughout the UK. Harrods and John Lewis, who at that time had in-store workrooms also sourced many of their products from L & S Services.
In the 1990’s the company rebranded as “International Drapery Products” and added to its portfolio selected collections of beautiful curtain poles manufactured throughout Europe and the US. International Drapery Products was responsible for introducing curtain eyelet headings to the UK.
Moving into the 2000’s demand from the interior decorator/design market was growing for increasingly decorative high quality curtain poles which saw “IDP” increasing its manufacturing facilities and refocusing its product range towards handmade custom products, launching the Arboretum, Stanforth, Mirage and Isambard collections.
Now working extensively in wood, brass and acrylic IDP were looking for new design ideas and a new name to reflect their changing product collections. A fortunate coincidence of circumstance led to “the Holbein collection”, a range of beautifully hand painted carved curtain pole and tieback designs looking for a new owner just at the right time. A perfect partnership for IDP, this collection was taken under their wing. The quality of design and production of the Holbein collection was such that it was used to lead the revision of IDP’s product range and the rebranding of the company to The Holbein Company.
The Holbein Company has grown for over 40 years to offer an unsurpassed range of unique drapery hardware, with the added ability to create bespoke products placing it at the heart of cutting edge interior design and making it a key supplier to the heritage market.