No matter where you are in the world, you’re never too far away from a British Spirals & Castings staircase or balcony. Around one in six of our spiral staircases are sent overseas for buildings in places such as the US, Canada, Japan, Germany and New Zealand. Whilst we handle many of these orders directly through our website, for the last eight years we have also been working with Henrik Hoffner a specialist distributor who sells a carefully curated selection of high quality products across Scandinavia through his company: Agenturhuset.
We sat down with Henrik to find out more about how his business has grown, what he looks for in brands and all about his new show room.
Can you tell us a little about how you came to set-up Agenturhuset?
It all began 12 years ago. I was constructing a new building in Sweden and had a very hard time finding those special items that make all the difference to how a building looks and feels. During this process, I discovered that many companies choose not to sell here in Scandinavia – apparently too few people divided across four currencies! As a result, the choice can be quite limited here.
I decided to have a go at distributing beautifully designed, niche items for customers, architects and interior designers over here.
How do you go about picking the items you stock?
I try to follow my gut feeling. Inevitably, a few of the items we have stocked haven’t worked for one reason or another, but we generally find that our customers really appreciate high quality items from small producers and these items sell well. I have found there are lots of these types of highly skilled, specialist producers in Britain – companies that make things with devotion and pride. For me, it is a treasure trove.
British Spirals & Castings have worked with you for some time now – why did you decide we were a good fit?
Yes, we have been collaborating for well over 8 years now and it has been like clockwork! I found that many of the staircases on sale over here were cheap imports from China. I wanted to find a better-quality product which I could be built to size and would definitely meet legislation and building standards across the region. British Spirals & Castings stood out from the competition in their ability to meet these requirements
We’ve collaborated on all sorts of projects over the years. Do you have any particular favourites?
Yes, there was a double flight staircase in an unusual green colour that we delivered for a castle hotel just outside of Gothenburg. That was quite a complex staircase and stunning when fitted!
We also supplied double flight staircase for a young owner who actually committed 20% of his entire renovation budget to the stairs! He said it had to be perfect as it was the “spine of the house” and it really was majestic when fitted!
Obviously, there are still lots of questions about how Brexit might affect British exports. What are your thoughts on this?
We see no problem. The potential tolls we have heard about are more than compensated by the currency rate. At worst, it might mean it takes a few extra days for items to be delivered due to the additional custom checks. If anything, it may mean people are happier to buy directly from us so we can handle the arrangements.
Finally, where can our Scandinavian visitors go to look at the items you offer?
The simplest place is our website: https://www.agentur-huset.com/
Of course, we can supply anything from the British Spirals & Castings collection so if you see anything you like simply get in touch with us via email: sales@agentur-huset.com
At the end of October, we’ll also be opening a new showroom at Garnisonsgatan 13, 25466 Helsingborg, Sweden where you can look through a selection of the products we offer in person.
Thanks Henrik – we look forward to seeing the finished show room!
If you live outside of Scandinavia and would like to order a staircase don’t worry, the team here at British Spirals & Castings can help to walk you through the process and help you to get the staircase, balcony or railings you’ve been dreaming of. Take a look through our gallery and export guide then submit a quote or get in touch.