For bespoke makers who sell through architects and designers
Be the name on the drawing.
I run LinkedIn for makers, in their own name, so architects get to know your work and write you into their projects.
spec this one
| DRAWING | A-210 Axonometric |
| ITEM | D04 Entrance door, slim steel |
| MAKER | [Your workshop] |
Her followers since we started
Consistent growth, once someone runs the account every day.
+1,348
new followers, 4 Jul to 2 Nov
~340
a month, up from ~36 before
17 weeks
of daily work on her account since 6 July
Screenshot from her LinkedIn analytics, 2 Nov 2026. We started on 6 July.
From her inbox, first 90 days
Their exact words. Names removed.
CHARTERED ARCHITECT, RIBA
DAY 86
"The value of the window package is in six figures. I would like to visit your showroom with my clients..."
Six-figure package
PROJECT ARCHITECT, ARB
DAY 73
"I've got a project starting next week where this type of door could be utilised... I'll pass your details to the contractor who's doing the procurement."
FOUNDER AND ARCHITECT
DAY 18
"I have a client at the moment thinking of a crital style partition and have another client... also thinking of steel frame internal doors."
PROCUREMENT MANAGER, LONDON CONTRACTOR
DAY 24
"Im keen to find out more about you... so we can organise a brief call."
ARCHITECT, AFTER A SHOWROOM VISIT
DAY 88
"I am truly impressed witht the products you make and will be more than happy to specify them..."
"...hoping this time we have someone who can provide the solution without compromising the design intent."
DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE, LONDON PRACTICE · DAY 16
Her inbox, first 90 days
What they wrote, word for word.
Excerpts in their exact words. Names removed. See the screenshots
"My home, that needs renovating, has Crittall windows... that need replacing"
RIBA ARCHITECT
DAY 10
"Do you make fire rated doors? ...that's where these systems usually let us down."
DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE
DAY 12
"looks a great product. I hope a find the right opportunity to specify."
ARCHITECT, OWN PRACTICE
DAY 35
"Elegant steal doors are hard to come by."
SENIOR ARCHITECT AND ASSOCIATE
DAY 46
"You're right these are often hard to come by."
PROJECT ARCHITECT
DAY 52
"this would be very helpful for our projects..."
ARCHITECT
DAY 66
One architect, start to finish
18 days from her first message to "more than happy to specify them".
no ads, no cold calls
14 SEP
Reads the posts
Says she finds them useful and suggests a coffee.
SEP
Conversation
Messages back and forth with the maker, on LinkedIn.
1 OCT
Showroom visit
Sees the doors in person.
2 OCT
"More than happy to specify them"
And mentions another architect's client already asking about the doors.
What one architect is worth to you
Your numbers, not mine. Move the sliders.
Open categories
For makers whose jobs run into five figures. One maker per category, and once it's taken, it's closed.
Steel doors and windows
Taken
Architectural glazing
Open
Bespoke staircases
Open
Natural stone
Open
Architectural metalwork
Open
One of her posts
[Maker name]
Founder, luxury steel doors, London
The best compliment I ever got in this business took 3 years to reach me.
In my first year a client ordered £35,000 of doors for his house. It was the biggest job I had ever had. I was 26, so I asked him if he was sure he wanted to buy from someone so new.
He said: "Because you are young and I believe in you. Make me good doors and you will get more."
We made him good doors. Then I did not hear from him again.
3 years later we finished a much bigger job. £150,000 of doors and windows, ordered through an architect's practice, which is normal on a house that size, so I never knew whose house it was. When it was done I drove out to photograph it. In the hallway I saw a face I knew: the housekeeper from my first client's house.
I asked her if she had changed jobs.
No, she said. Same family. This is their second house.
So the man who had bought from me at 26 had come back. He had told his architect: doors and windows from Black Steel Doors, nothing else. He never told me. He did not think he had to.
I wanted to cry in that hallway.
And this is what it taught me. The first order you earn face to face. The second one happens without you in the room: someone says your name to their architect, and you may never hear about it. So we do every job as if the client is already planning the next one, even when we never hear from them again.
People buy from people. Then they pass the name on.
I help, I don't sell. The second order is the proof.
Has a client ever come back to you without you knowing?
538
profile views from this post
17,163
people reached
27,253
impressions
93%
outside her network
Written with her, in her voice. Figures from LinkedIn analytics for this post.
Her account, last 365 days
Flat for eight months. Then we started.
we start here, July
Screenshot from her LinkedIn analytics: 116,005 impressions in 365 days, up 916% on the year before.
How it works
From the first call to architects in your inbox.
You
Me
1
WEEK 1
Two calls with you
One hour each. You talk about your work, I listen and take notes.
You
Me
2
WEEK 2
A month of posts, in your voice
Written from those calls. Nothing goes out until you approve it.
Me
3
EVERY WEEK
Architects get to know you
Your posts go out, and I connect you with architects and start conversations, from your account.
Me
4
WHEN THEY'RE READY
You take the call
When an architect asks about a real project, the conversation is yours.
You
Your time: two one-hour calls to start, then approving your posts.
Want the long version? See how it works in full, or read the guide: How to get specified by architects.
Peter Solarski
You keep the relationships. They're built on your profile, in your name, and they stay with you.
An honest filter
Not for you if...
You want orders next week.
You aren't proud of what you make.
You'd rather not show your work.
You're just after followers.
Also from Forge Lead
Voice OS. AI that writes like you.
For founders, experts and business owners who want to post on LinkedIn in their own voice, without hiring a ghostwriter.
- A voice guide built from interviews with you
- A bank of your stories and opinions
- Your positioning: who you write for and what you stand for
- Works with ChatGPT or Claude
Maker who'd rather run LinkedIn yourself? Start here.
Websites for small businesses.
- Designed around your business
- Works on every phone
- WordPress you can edit yourself
- Hosting and setup sorted for you
Is your category still open?
Book a short call and find out.