About Us

photo of articleIn 1958, Stan and Jerry Paul decided to open their own decorative and builder's hardware business, after running a similar business for an absentee wonder for several years. They found a small space to build a showroom, on 50th St. in mid-town Manhattan, and set out to offer unique hardware imported from around the world.

As their business grew in the 1960’s they looked to expand their product offerings. Stan and Jerry saw a need for faucets that were more than the utilitarian designs sold for residential uses. They took a pinecone shaped finial typically used at the bottom of a banister and broached it to fit a lavatory valve. They found a coordinating decorative lavatory spout and placed the new Pinecone faucet in their showroom. The overwhelming demand for their new faucet prompted them to continue adapting handles designed for other purposes to faucet handles.

The Paul brand grew rapidly in the 1970’s as Stan and Jerry moved to a larger showroom on 55th Street in mid-town Manhattan. The company, now with an established presence in the plumbing industry, enlarged their niche with contemporary faucet designs which they created. These novel designs were made from brass bar stock instead of brass or zinc castings that were used by all other manufacturers. Many products garnered design awards and accolades for their unique style and originality.

The 1980’s saw explosive growth as Stan and Jerry opened showrooms in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Washington DC and a manufacturing facility in Long Island City, NY. Additionally, several large commercial faucet manufacturers recognized the value of the high-end residential market and contracted with Stan and Jerry to design and manufacture faucets for their residential product lines.

The second generation joined the company during this time. Stanley’s sons Richard and Gary came on board in sales and engineering capacities respectively, and Jerry’s son Jonathan started in the sales department as well.

The company introduced a new product lines to complement its original product line, now known as The Custom Line™. The another new product line, The Greenwich Collection™, took back the market for mid-priced contemporary faucets and bath accessories to counter increased competition, as other companies emulated the designs Paul had introduced over the past ten years. The company also sold its showrooms to local distributors to concentrate on designing and manufacturing their products along with their oem business.

During the 1990’s, Stan and Jerry oversaw the transition of the company to their sons, who's firstgoal was to create the company’s third product line, Paul Classics™, which added mid-priced traditional faucets, accessories and hardware to the product mix. Their second goal was to automate the manufacturing process with modern CNC (computer controlled) machinery.

buildingWith the new millennium just a few years old, Richard, Gary and Jonathan introduced a new product line of high-quality faucets, bath accessories and hardware focused on the hospitality industry named The Millennium Collection™, and more importantly, committed to manufacturing the company’s products in the United States with the construction of a brand new factory in Louisa, VA. The new facility along with a new partner, Robert Andris, brings complete design, fabrication, plating and assembly under one roof with a modern factory floor that includes state of the art machinery, robotic polishing and automated plating systems. While most of the competitors in the plumbing industry now obtain their products from China, Mexico or Europe, Paul Decorative Products remains one of the last few companies designing and crafting their own products here in the USA.