Personalised Family Name Plate – Antique Brass Established Sign

The Plate

A rectangular field, hammered across its whole face so the light breaks up across it, held inside a scrolled frame with a crest of leaves above. Both names run across the centre joined by an ampersand, with Est. beneath them and the date on its own line below. The ground is blackened so the lettering is the only thing that reads at a distance.

Two names and the date they began. Nothing else needs saying.

Craftsmanship

Real metal, formed over the sculpted shape rather than cast, so the hammered texture keeps its facets, the leaf crest stays separate and the lettering stays sharp at the serifs. The metal is bonded to the surface, not painted or plated, so it will not chip, flake or peel. Raised gold, buffed back by hand, against a blackened ground. That contrast is what lets it read from a distance.

Built for outdoors

UV-protected and weather-treated after finishing, so it holds its colour in direct sun and through the monsoon. No fading, no rust bleed, no repainting every year. Fix it up and forget about it.

Personalisation

Three things are yours: both names and the date. Names can run in either order and the date in any format you use at home. Leave the second name blank and a single family surname takes the centre line instead, with the year the family began beneath it. Written in any language: English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali. Long names are welcome; the lettering is set to fit your name rather than your name cut to fit the plate. Send the spelling exactly as you want it and a design preview comes back by email before anything is made.

Specifications

• Material: Electroformed metal over a solid core
• Finish: Antique gold, raised and hand-buffed, on a hammered blackened ground
• UV-protected and weather-treated, safe for outdoor use
• Sizes: 6x4 to 10x10 inches
• Depth: 0.5 in, with a 3 mm solid back
• Any language, any script
• Made to order in our own workshop

Mounting

Four ways, chosen at checkout.

• Peel-off tape: three sealed strips across the back, no drilling at all. Best on a tiled or granite surface, or anywhere you would rather not make holes.
• Keyhole slots: two screws in the wall and the plate lifts on and off. Simplest permanent fix, easiest to level.
• Floating stud mount: four threaded studs on reinforced bosses, set into the wall so the plate stands a few millimetres clear. Throws a shadow line under the frame and no fixing ever shows.
• Easel stand: a slim metal easel on the back, so the plate stands on a console, a mantel or a shelf instead of going on a wall.

Where it works

An entrance hall, a main door, a gate pillar, above a console. It suits the inside of a flat as easily as the outside of a bungalow, and with the easel stand it stands on a sideboard instead.

Gifting

A wedding or anniversary gift where the date is the point, and the griha pravesh gift for a family who want the surname and the year on the wall. Either way it is the thing that stays up long after the flowers have gone.

Care

Wipe with a soft dry cloth. No metal polish or scouring, the dark ground is meant to stay dark. Outdoors, an occasional wipe is all it needs.