History of Lloyd Loom Furniture

The creator of the Lloyd Loom furniture was the American Marshall Burns Lloyd and in 1907 he invented a special loom, partly reinforced with steel wire, which could form a woven fabric by weaving twisted ‘Kraft’ paper. This was the invention of Lloyd Loom, which revolutionised a huge area of the furniture industry.

The new loom woven fabric is much more time efficient; a Lloyd Loom Chair can be produced much faster than it would producing a rattan or synthetic wicker version. The product was therefore much more desirable for the manufacturer, as it was time efficient as well as being much more durable.

The result of Lloyd loom weaving is far smoother and aesthetic which is due to the machines exactness in weaving, whereas human hand weaving is slightly different every time.

The history of Lloyd Loom then changes to Britain, when in 1922 W. Lusty bought the manufacturing rights and began a factory in the East End of London. As Lloyd Loom furniture became increasingly popular, the company W. Lusty & Sons Ltd was nurtured. Lloyd Loom furniture could be seen in affluent locations everywhere, from the Royal Boxes at Wimbledon (even to this day) and Twickenham to the British Army and RAF worldwide.

In 1940 the Luftwaffe, aiming for nearby East India Docks, destroyed the Lusty firm but then 40 years later the Lloyd loom furniture process was re-established.

In the last 20 years Lloyd Loom has regained its high status in the furniture industry. Although the furniture is still traditional with the same twisted paper, the new designs of furniture blend well, to create an increasingly popular beautiful range of furniture, which can be seen in homes and businesses. For many restaurants seating they use lloyd loom as cafe chairs due to the long lasting nature of the product. The new weaves constantly being created, such as loom tex and wireless weaves as well as foams and fabrics, create an interesting range with designs to suit anyone.