Somic currently produces substantial amounts of Lloyd Loom, but where did it all start “Lloyd Loom” derives from the surname of its American inventor, Marshall Burns Lloyd, who in 1917 patented a new system for the manufacture of wicker products. The search for an alternative was driven by the desire for cheaper methods of manufacture. Traditionally the production of wicker was a skilled and labour intensive procedure, where a chair would be created by hand weaving the wicker round a hand constructed frame. The result of the invention was a product that was considered superior to wicker in several ways. It didn’t creek or have sharp edges, it was softer and more comfortable to sit on, and could be produced more efficiently. Born in 1858 Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of an English immigrant.Lloyd was gifted with a keen sense of observation which he applied to solve practical problems. He also possessed the confidence, persistence and enthusiasm, to drive his ideas forward. Essentially Lloyd mechanised the laborious hand weaving process by producing a frame onto which a separately produced machine woven-fabric was secured. The fabric was woven on a loom using tightly twisted paper reinforced with steel wire. Lloyd Looms popularity in the United States was established through the nursery trade, where wicker frame pram bodies were the norm. Such was the success of Lloyd Loom in this market that his company became the largest recognised producer of baby carriages in the world. Alarm bell soon began to ring in the wicker industry and in 1921 wicker manufacturer Washburn & Heywood Chair Co a major industry player made Lloyd an offer he couldn’t refuse and his company was incorporated into the newly formed Heywood-Wakefield Co. This move gave Lloyd Loom a valuable entree in to the furniture business. Little of the American production was exported and it was through another avenue that Lloyd Loom was to eventually establish itself in Europe, though this was to prove a more difficult venture as there was no readily established market in wicker. It was W.Lusty & Sons who picked up on the success of Lloyd Loom through their American agent. Frank Lusty spared no time in visiting the states and in 1920 signed up for the British rights to manufacture Lloyd Loom in the UK, and subsequently spent four months working in the factory and learning how the fabric was made . The British didn’t use garden furniture on anything like the same scale as the Americans, and its success in the UK was because of the way Lusty marketed the furniture that proved crucial. There approach was to advertise the new furniture as an interior furnishing rather than just as garden furniture and this lead to some leading hotels of the day specifying Lloyd Loom. Demand eventually took off and it was during this period that over 600 designs were originated many of which were to become classics and have since been copied by wicker producers. Demand reduced over the 60s and 70s but an interest in some of the classic chair designs evolved during the early 80s as second hand chairs were collected, traded and renovated and as manufacturers started producing the furniture again Somic entered the scene with their paper spinning and weaving expertise. Somic adapted weaving looms to produce the Lloyd Loom fabric and modified machines to produce braid and trim. Engineering developments for Lloyd Loom are continuously researched and implemented to keep the product competitive and ensure the legacy of Marshall Burns Lloyd.

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