The beauty of simplicity: Celebrating 30 years of Halliday + Baillie hardware

Written by

21 August 2025

 • 

3 min read

Featured product: HB500 Stair Rail Bracket.
Featured product: HB500 Stair Rail Bracket.
From European imports to locally crafted architectural hardware, Halliday + Baillie’s journey reflects a legacy of innovation, design excellence and precision manufacturing.

Sometimes the best products come from those solving their own issues, and for Halliday + Baillie, it all started when founder Marcus Halliday was unable to find the perfect door handles when building his home. The search led to the premium German brand, FSB, and after sharing this finding with local architects, Halliday + Baillie was born. 

What started with a single range of luxury European door handles has evolved into their own diverse collection of meticulously crafted hardware solutions – from sliding door systems to stair rail brackets – designed for architects, designers, builders, fabricators and homeowners seeking timeless, contemporary design. Today, all of these solutions are crafted in New Zealand and Australia, complementing the German-engineered FSB and Tectus hardware that is still proudly part of Halliday + Baillie’s collection.

In 1995, Halliday + Baillie started by importing some of the world’s best hardware from Germany. Now they manufacture 90 per cent of the products they sell in both New Zealand and Australia.

A legacy of quality and innovation

Handles can be touched thousands of times in their lifetime, so they must be durable, functional and beautiful. This has been Halliday + Baillie’s philosophy from the start. 

“The luxury of being small for Halliday + Baillie is there’s no compromise. It’s about making something that functions well, is timeless, pleasing to the eye, and pleasing to the touch. We’re developing innovative, timeless products for the architectural market – for people who understand quality and functionality,” says Marcus Halliday.

The brand’s in-house designs are masterfully crafted to match the high standards of their German hardware. Their first design from 25 years ago – the HB500 Stair Rail Bracket – remains in production today and is a testament to their dedication in crafting quality, enduring pieces.

“What makes a product timeless is simplicity,” says Marcus. “Simplicity is quite hard to get right because you can’t disguise it. It’s got to slide right and feel good in the hand. Functionality is the key. At Halliday + Haillie, if it looks good and doesn’t function, it’s dead in the water. It’s balancing that functionality and that image – that’s one of our core values.”

Designed and made locally

Halliday + Baillie partners with local producers on small production runs to ensure this high quality.

“Manufacturing locally means we have more control over quality and smaller production runs allow us to continually improve designs and provide flexibility with finishes,” explains Tanya Rive, Director of Halliday + Baillie. 

“We’re immensely proud to bring manufacturing to this side of the world because it employs people – it’s really important. More and more manufacturing is leaving our shores, and we need to bring some back in. And we’re one of those companies that are doing it.”

Read more: Halliday + Baillie expands production into Australia with its drawer hardware

The Halliday + Baillie D Pull series of handles are manufactured from solid brass to provide a classic look for glass, timber and aluminium doors.
Whether for residential or commercial spaces, Halliday + Baillie's hardware is designed to stand the test of time.

Uncompromised standards

When you touch a piece of Halliday + Baillie hardware, you can feel its quality. Every design is manufactured from the highest grade materials, well above the most stringent international standards. 

The hardware’s electroplated and powder coat finishes are salt spray tested to 1,000 hours, lock sets are tested to half a million cycles and roller locks to 80,000. When it comes to stair brackets, these comply with Australia and New Zealand’s exacting standards, as well as International Building Code 2003. 

Every Halliday + Baillie piece is truly designed and made for here.

Explore the full range of Halliday + Baillie hardware for your next project.