Ercol
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Ercol is a British furniture manufacturer. It was established by Lucian Ercolani and his sons in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and is now based in Princes Risborough.[1]
History
[edit]Origins
[edit]The company was founded in 1920 as Furniture Industries by Italian-born Lucian Ercolani (1888–1976), who had trained as a furniture designer at Shoreditch Technical Institute, and made his first piece of furniture in 1907.[citation needed] "Ercol" was first registered as a trademark in 1928.[2]
World War 2
[edit]In 1944, Ercol was contracted by the government's Board of Trade to produce 100,000 low-cost Windsor chairs under the Utility Furniture Scheme.[3] Windsor chairs were constructed with a bentwood frame and an arched back supporting delicate spindles, using the steam bending of English elm – a wood previously thought difficult to bend because it distorts.[citation needed] This method allowed the chair to be assembled from 14 pre-formed components, and mechanization meant that a chair could be made every 20 seconds.[citation needed]
Post-war
[edit]In 1946, Ercol exhibited its bentwood furniture at the "Britain Can Make It" exhibition, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In 1947, the first production-line Windsor chair, and other pieces from the range of Windsor furniture, went on sale. Ercol's mass-produced furniture found a good market in post-war Britain, which demanded smaller pieces with simpler lines than their chunky pre-war counterparts. Ercol furniture was exhibited at the 1951 Festival of Britain, as one of the latest styles in furniture design and manufacture.[citation needed]
21st century
[edit]In 2002, Ercol moved to a new facility, purpose built for the company, in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire,[4] where it produces furniture made from North American elm and European ash, beech, oak and walnut. The company sources fabrics from mills in Italy and Belgium, offering a choice of over 100 different options for its upholstery. Because Ercol's upholstery is designed with solid wood frames, it is possible to replace worn-out cushions and other components, prolonging the life of the products. Ercol offers a reCover service to supply replacement cushions.[citation needed]
Awards
[edit]Ercol and its employees have been awarded a number of Guild Marks by the Furniture Makers' Company, including:
- 15 Bespoke Guild Marks[5]
- a Design Guild Mark in 2010 for the Treviso desk by Matthew Hilton[6][7]
- a Design Guild Mark in 2015 for the Svelto round stacking stool by Lisa Gould Sandall[8][7]
Activities
[edit]Ercol partnered with design magazine Wallpaper for an installation at the 2009 London Design Festival – a modern interpretation of the Chair Arch, which was exhibited in the Central Courtyard of the V&A Museum in September 2009.
In May 2023, Grown in Britain, an organization dedicated to safekeeping British forests, partnered with Ercol to launch a line of furniture including the Marino chair and Pebble nest.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ McConnell, Anita (23 September 2004). "Ercolani, Lucian Randolph (1888–1976), furniture designer and manufacturer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/46982. Retrieved 4 November 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Trade mark number UK00000495084". trademarks.ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "ercol and the Board of Trade". ercol timeline. ercol corporate website. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "hcl architects - Ercol Furniture Factory". www.hcla.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ "Bespoke Guild Mark | Ercol". furnituremakers.org.uk. Furniture Makers' Company. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "Treviso Desk". furnituremakers.org.uk. Furniture Makers' Company. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ a b Woodham, Jonathan (19 May 2016). A Dictionary of Modern Design. Oxford University Press. pp. 233–234. ISBN 978-0-19-251853-8.
- ^ "Svelto Round Stacking Stool". furnituremakers.org.uk. Furniture Makers' Company. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Ercol launch iconic Marino chair in GiB certified ash". Grown In Britain. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Ercolani, Lucian R. (1975). A Furniture Maker: His Life, His Works and His Observations. Ernest Benn. ISBN 9780510000110.
- Jackson, Lesley (2020). Ercol: Furniture in the Making. Richard Dennis Publications. ISBN 9780957209534.
