Lloyd Loom

Everyone has heard of Lloyd Loom, but very few people know the history of the furniture or why it was invented and how it is manufactured.

We believe that it’s the history of Lloyd Loom, both in the UK and the USA, as well as the people involved in it’s creation, which makes loom furniture unique, and which goes to explain so much of the mystique surrounding our furniture.

The history of Lloyd Loom furniture involves the exploration of the world by Magellan, the absolute genius and imagination of one man, Marshall Burns Lloyd, and the exceptional appeal of the furniture.

Watch the video below to see how Lloyd Loom furniture is made.

How did Lloyd Loom get from 1917 to the present day.

1917 Marshall Burns-Lloyd, already credited with 200 patented inventions, invents a new form of weaving, combining twisted paper and paper covered wire. Lloyd Loom fabric is stronger, smoother and longer lasting material than wicker.

1919 Burns-Lloyd becomes the ‘Baby Carriage King’ by replacing hand woven wicker with Lloyd Loom material. He goes on to develop a new stylish furniture range when he realises he can produce a chair five times more quickly using his new fabric. (An original Marshall Burns-Lloyd baby carriage is available to view at the Maycroft Lloyd Loom Centre)

1922 Lloyd Loom furniture comes to England, when William Lusty sets up a small manufacturing company in London. By 1930, Lloyd Loom becomes the most popular type of furniture in Great Britain with almost every household owning a Lloyd Loom linen basket.

1939 Disaster strikes when a bomb destroys the factory during the war. Fortunately nobody is killed because it is a Saturday, and the works cat is renamed ‘Lucky’ after he escapes the inferno.

1981 After decades out of production, the UK manufacture of Lloyd Loom furniture begins once again, even using Looms from the 1930’s.

1996 The Maycroft Lloyd Loom Centre opens its first Website showing the full range of Lloyd Loom products made in the UK.