What it takes to create award-winning hardware

Breaking into the hardware industry as a brand new company trying to sell an entirely unique concept is difficult, but Fantom Hardware has managed to do it and won four design awards in the process. Founded by entrepreneur Mark Seller in 2014 as a single product business – the Fantom Doorstop – Fantom Hardware is an Australian design, manufacturing and hardware distribution company focused on providing functional and innovative hardware solutions to the global market. “In general, door stops have lacked innovation for decades, so by adding innovation to an otherwise left-behind category, Fantom was able to bring to market an innovative solution,” says Ben Montgomery, Fantom Hardware CEO.

The idea for the Fantom Doorstop came to Mark when installing a doorstop in a bathroom for a door that opened onto a toilet. A traditional floor-mounted door stop installed in front of the toilet became a trip hazard when the door was closed, leaving him with no suitable location to install it. This frustration gave birth to innovation and the idea for a door stop that could retract when not in use emerged.

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Bringing this idea to life was a long and challenging process, says Mark, who explains the initial concept must be reimagined into a sketch with functional consideration given to real-world applications. “We had to consider what materials to use and how to create the necessary components, then create a prototype to physically test the new products,” says Mark.

The testing and assessment process produced minor changes to improve the door stop before it was presented to an engineer to draft sketches for each component, which were then shared with the manufacturer for production. Testing, branding, market feasibility and pricing followed soon after. “As no one had ever designed a product such as this before, there was nothing to reference when creating the design,” says Mark. “Getting the pin to move freely and smoothly as it engages and disengages from the strike zone was the most difficult part of the design.”

The Fantom Doorstop is the most ‘unseen’ doorstop on the market and boasts an excellent catching speed that can stop even fast-moving doors, which is where other magnetic door stops usually fail. It retracts when not in use to become almost invisible, and acts as a hold-open device.

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While the idea for the Fantom Doorstop was undeniably a stroke of genius, breaking into the hardware industry as a new company with a single product proved difficult, explains Ben. “Thankfully, we had good contacts at a commercial hardware distributor who was able to open a few doors to help with initial stocking and sales,” says Ben. 

“As a business, we contacted hundreds of hardware and specification professionals via email, LinkedIn and face-to-face presentations; we kept sending out brochures and flyers, always trying to increase product awareness and expand our distribution network. Success came due to sheer volume of sales activity, working very hard and leaning on some friends in the industry – and of course, a wonderful, innovative product.”

The hard work paid off, as the Fantom Doorstop is now sold in more than 60 countries and has won four awards: Silver in the home and garden product design category at Better Future Design Awards 2016; finalist for building and hardware category at the Design For Export Awards 2017 and 2019; A Good Design Australia award in 2019 in the hardware and building category.

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“In the coming months we’re launching a ‘redesigned facemount’ version of the Fantom Doorstop for the DIY retail space, which we think will appeal to the novice renovator,” says Ben. “The digital door lock space in the Australian market is also growing rapidly, and we’ll soon launch a Fantom-branded digital lock.”

See Fantom Hardware products on ArchiPro.