OUR STORY
Holme & Hadfield
Where It All Started
We (Ian and Phil) had spent most of our 20s doing what we thought we were supposed to do: building careers, climbing the corporate ladder, figuring it out as we went. By our early 30s, things looked good on paper, but something didn’t feel right. The passion was missing.
We ran into each other on a beach in Brazil. A few beers in, the conversation shifted. What started as catching up became something else entirely - a decision. We weren’t going back to our old lives. We were going to build something of our own.
First ever product: The Watch Deck - It’s launch time!
Back home, that idea turned into months of late nights, research, and a lot of second-guessing. We noticed that people were spending thousands of dollars on a watch collection that they then placed in a boring, old-fashioned organizer. There was no emotional connection with that organizer, it was purely functional.
We asked a simple question: Why does something made to hold beautiful watches look so uninspired? That’s when we built something we’d actually want to see on our own desks - clean, minimal, and made to be seen.
In early December 2020, we launched the Watch Deck on Amazon and our website. A week later, Peter McKinnon featured it as the number one gift in his holiday guide, and everything changed overnight. The inventory that was expected to last for months sold out in less than 3 weeks. That was the turning point for Holme & Hadfield.
Expanding Our Reach - Etsy
As more people discovered the brand, we focused on meeting them where they already were. Launching on Etsy brought in a different kind of customer: people who cared about craftsmanship, detail, and the story behind what they were buying. It wasn’t just about selling on another platform. It was about becoming part of a wider community.
First knife display case: The Knife Deck
This one didn’t come from a big strategy session. It came from a message, “Have you ever thought of doing this for knives?”
We realized then that the problem we had solved for watch collectors existed in the knife community and there was a huge need for knife collectors to display what they loved most.
The Knife Deck was built for them, and it marked a shift: This wasn’t just a brand for watch collectors anymore. It was becoming a brand for ALL collectors.
First coin display case: The Coin Deck
Not all collections look the same, but they all carry meaning. Challenge coins, especially, tell personal stories, but the way they were stored didn’t reflect that. So we built something simple, thoughtful, made to sit in the open and start conversations. It proved something important: the same approach could work across entirely different kinds of collections.
First accessory organizer: The Hub
Up to this point, everything we built was for collections. The Hub was different. It was designed for the space around them - the desk, the nightstand, the everyday clutter that builds up over time. It sounds simple, but it pushed us into new territory. It became one of our most challenging products to get right, and one of the most rewarding.
New York Product Design Awards (Gold Winner)
In 2023, we received a Gold Award at the New York Product Design Awards. For two founders with no formal design background, that moment meant a lot. Everything had been learned from scratch, through trial and error, and a lot of iteration. It wasn’t just recognition for a product. It was validation that the approach was working.
First product add-on: Add-On Knife Pillars
Some of the best ideas don’t come from us, they come from the people using the products every day. A customer had run out of room, so he built his own solution and shared it online.
We saw it, and we turned the idea into a product of its own. The Add-On Knife Pillars came directly from that moment. It’s still one of the clearest examples of how we operate: we listen, then we build.
The Winder
A H&H watch winder had been on the list for years, but we knew it had to be done properly or not at all. So we took our time. Over 18 months, we worked through prototypes, testing, and feedback from thousands of collectors. When it finally launched, it wasn’t just another product. It was something people had been asking us to get right for a long time.
First trade show: Blade Show Texas
Until this point, everything had lived online. Blade Show Texas changed that. For the first time, we stepped into the same room as the community that had been part of the journey for years. It was different seeing it in person - the conversations, the reactions, the small details people noticed immediately. It made everything feel real in a new way.
Intersect Watch Show
Not long after, we found ourselves back where it all started - with watch collectors. The Intersect Watch Show is a different kind of event. No sales teams. Just founders and collectors, face to face. That mattered to us. It gave us the chance to connect directly with the people who shaped the very first product we ever made, and more importantly, to listen.
First pen display case: The Pen Deck
Over time, one thing became clear: every collector group has its own rhythm, its own standards, its own way of doing things. Pen collectors were no different. When enough people asked, we paid attention. The Pen Deck became our way of bringing that same approach into a new category without overcomplicating it.
The most requested add-on: The Riser
Collections grow, that’s part of the point, but most storage solutions don’t grow with them. The Riser came from one of the most consistent requests we heard: more space, without replacing what people already had. So we built something that could expand alongside a collection, not reset it. Simple idea. Big impact.
First cigar humidor: The Humidor
This was one of our biggest steps into new territory. Cigar collectors have a completely different set of expectations and a deep respect for how things should be done. So we approached it carefully. The Humidor wasn’t about entering a new category quickly. It was about doing it properly.
First collab: GiantMouse × Holme & Hadfield
The best collaborations don’t always begin on paper. This one started with a conversation over drinks at Blade Show. Two teams talking about the same thing: details. GiantMouse and Holme & Hadfield spent months refining ideas, testing concepts, and pushing things further than either team normally would . The result was The Burrow - a product neither brand could have built alone.
The Halo: Raven The Pirate × Holme & Hadfield
Collaborations have become more than just product projects. They are becoming a way to build alongside people who genuinely shape the communities we care about.
The Halo was created with Raven The Pirate, one of the most respected voices in the EDC world. Instead of designing something for an entire collection, we focused on a single knife, the one with a story behind it.
What followed became one of the biggest launches we’d ever had. All 250 units sold out in just 43 hours, making The Halo our fastest-selling limited release to date. More importantly, it reinforced something we’ve believed from the beginning: collectors care deeply about how the pieces they love are displayed, experienced, and remembered.
What’s Next?
Seven years in, and it still feels like the beginning. What started as a conversation between two childhood friends has grown into something shaped by hundreds of thousands of collectors around the world. And the direction hasn’t changed. We’re still building with the same mindset we started with - just on a bigger scale. Not just the products, but how we think, how we design, and how we keep pushing things forward.
There’s a lot ahead: more collaborations with like-minded brands, major upgrades across our core products, and many exciting new products we can’t wait to reveal.
Our community has shaped everything we’ve done. It’ll shape everything that comes next too. If you’re here, you’re already part of the story. And we’re just getting started. Watch this space!
SEEN ON & TRUSTED BY
Thank you for choosing Holme & Hadfield.
We're honored to have you as a customer and look forward to sharing our distinctive products with you.
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