Some of the best ideas for the home begin with a simple frustration: you know exactly what you want, but you just can’t find it.
That was the starting point for Gloag & Daughters, a British family-run homeware brand known for its beautifully practical hanging rails, generous hooks and unmistakable use of colour.
What began with the search for a traditional brass kitchen rail has grown into a distinctive collection designed and made in England, with many of the brand’s suppliers located within just a few miles of the family home.
There is a wonderfully uncomplicated quality to Gloag & Daughters. The products are made to be used, lived with and kept for years, while thoughtful details from natural brass and bold painted finishes to the tiny engraved Runner duck give each piece its own personality.
We spoke to the family behind Gloag & Daughters about how the brand began, why British manufacturing matters, the inspiration behind their colours and some of the more unexpected ways their rails have found their way around people’s homes.
Gloag & Daughters feels very much like a family affair. How did the idea for the brand first come about, and when did you realise your product could become something people really wanted in their homes?
The idea for the brand came about after we developed our first product together. So it was product led. We wanted to have quite a classic traditional kitchen rail with hooks, one that was beautiful and brass; with decent hooks with a generous hook opening so we could hang pans or anything on them without any faff.
We couldn't find something we liked so we designed our own hooks and then that led to the rails, finials and wall attachments. All those design choices and creating the brass parts that all fit together led to our system and brand. Then we offered the products up and people started buying them. We then developed painted metal rails with matching hooks and attachments in some lovely colours to give a completely different look in the kitchen. A real pop of colour! These were in some Vogue editorials and you can't argue with that!
Being made in England is such an important part of Gloag & Daughters. What does British-made mean to you, and why was keeping production and suppliers close to home so important from the beginning?
I wanted to talk to and meet up with all our suppliers face to face. I think you get a much better relationship and higher quality more relevant service. You can tell who is running a really beautiful business straight away. Just sitting with knowledgeable people talking about a problem or challenge so often a designer or craftsman will say "Why don't you try and make it like this?" And you get the benefit of their whole working life and specialism. None of us in the family have design or engineering experience, so this is really valuable to us. Being British made means I can make up a special rail order and send it out within a few days. I'm not waiting for any parts from abroad. The communication is good and the quality is excellent and it makes really good business sense too.
I wanted to get everything sourced within a 10 mile radius from our house and we are pretty much there barring one part and some knitted tubing that comes from Coventry. Oh and the powder coater is 13 miles away... that is doable for us for the quality of their painting and eco credentials.
Your brass kitchen rails turn something very practical into a real feature. Why did you choose brass, and what do you love most about the way natural brass changes and develops a patina over time?
Brass is wonderful isn't it! I remember polishing brass stuff at home. We used to do that, I'm showing my age. That lovely gold colour is very cheerful though. So much kitchenware is grey or black metal and all squared edged and plasticky. Yuck. We prefer the rounder golden look that really cherishes whatever is hung from it. It ages well and calms down over time and if you want it shiny again just give it a rub with a Brasso cloth and hey presto.
Colour is a huge part of the Gloag & Daughters personality. Where do colours such as Pastel Turquoise, Signal Yellow and Pink come from, and what inspires you when choosing a new shade for the collection?
Very good question. Some decisions are easy. We have a wonderful Jug we bought in a flea market. It's such a nice turquoise colour so we got out the RAL swatches and matched it exactly :) The pink and yellow the kids decided from the swatches as a personal preference or what they wanted in their bedrooms!
But we have tested about 30 different beautiful shades on our hooks, it's so hard to choose but only a few colours made the cut. To have all the parts painted all at once is quite a mission and you need to get a lot done all at once to make it feasible. It's quite daunting for a small business to commit to a very large colour range of different sized products. I like definite colours, Deniz likes in-between colours and the kids like primary colours. So we all have quite different palletes. When we are choosing a new colour we all have a lot of discussions about it and in the end we all just have to be very brave and just go for our collective gut feelings!!
For someone searching for clever kitchen storage ideas, what makes a hanging rail such a useful addition particularly in smaller kitchens where worktop and cupboard space can be limited?
We have always tried to guard the valuable work top space from clutter or gadgets but it's so tricky isn't it. We don't have top cupboards at home, just wood shelves with rails underneath. The rails go on the end of work tops, above cookers, under shelves, in tiny bits of wall the builders leave you with.. they are very versatile. They can hold a huge amount that would otherwise be tricky to fit in a cupboard or hard to get in and out. Get your Le Creuset on there!
Your rails are definitely not limited to the kitchen. What are some of the most creative or unexpected ways you’ve seen customers use Gloag & Daughters hanging rails around the home?
We have seen them holding cushions in place for fitted seating, they are used to hold textile samples at Salvesen Graham show rooms, towel rails, curtain rods and one amazing bespoke table in the US.
We love the little details, especially the engraved Gloag & Daughters duck. What’s the story behind the Indian Runner duck logo, and how did it become part of the brand?
I love Runner ducks. Are they not the just most fantastic duck? :) It was me, I won that one!
So much homeware today is designed to be replaced rather than kept. Was creating strong, long-lasting homeware always part of the Gloag & Daughters philosophy, and how does that influence the way you design each product?
Absolutely. It's so satisfying keeping a favourite thing for decades isn't it. Something that serves you well and you really cherish. What a nice feeling. We make stuff and hit it and bend it and use it to make sure it's tough before we sell it! Is that a philosophy :) It's definitely emotional for me. Maybe I'm fragile but I like things to work and last!
From local suppliers and makers to plastic-free packaging, there seems to be a real focus on keeping things thoughtful and close to home. How important is responsible production to the brand, and what does that look like behind the scenes?
Well we don't need to use plastic for everything. We went to an excellent packaging supplier and they just designed a really beautiful brown box custom made to hold our products without glues or plastic tape. Metal is quite heavy so it needs to be packaged really well or it can move or break free in the post! So we are really happy with our boxes because the issues were solved through good design and design experience rather than just a ton of plastic wrapping. The brass inserts and joiners are made by Warwick Brass, a small Birmingham family firm, they are so careful with every piece of brass to minimise wastage and even the tiny bits of curls from the tiny engraving are recycled back into production.
If we opened the door to the Gloag & Daughters family kitchen, what would we find hanging from your own rails and what’s next for the brand that you’re particularly excited about?
Very good question. There would be an ever revolving diverse range of interesting and practical objects. Pots and pans within easy reach of course and always some beautiful mini gourds and tonnes of whatever plant was brought in from the allotment that week to dry in the kitchen. Maybe some knitted charcuterie, an antique egg timer, a treasured kids project we are trying to celebrate before disappearing :)
What's next?
I want to make a travel brass runner duck egg holder, but I'm not sure of the market for that and the kids are sceptical (LOL) but also some new coloured rails for 2027 and I want to design a new wall bracket for the rails that is more fun and also attempt to create a wood shelf rail combo that you can just put up and boom tonnes of beautiful storage.
Designed for Real Homes
What comes through most clearly when talking to Gloag & Daughters is that nothing begins with a trend for the sake of it. Their rails started because the family wanted something useful for their own kitchen. Their colours come from flea-market finds, family debates and instinct. Their British suppliers are people they know, visit and work alongside. And their products are tested not to look pristine for a photograph, but to withstand real life. That combination of practicality, colour and personality is perhaps what makes the collection so distinctive.
Whether used for hanging pans beneath a kitchen shelf, making use of a forgotten stretch of wall, holding towels or becoming part of something completely unexpected, a Gloag & Daughters rail proves that storage doesn’t have to disappear into the background.
Sometimes the most practical thing in the room can also be one of the most beautiful.
Discover the Gloag & Daughters collection at Mash + Mint, British-made brass and colourful hanging rails designed for kitchens and beyond.
