Ercol
Encyclopedia
Ercol is the name of a British furniture manufacturer. The firm dates back to 1920, when it was established in High Wycombe
, Buckinghamshire
, as Furniture Industries by Lucian Ercolani
(1888–1976).
In 1944, Ercol was contracted by the government Board of Trade
to produce 100,000 low-cost Windsor chair
s – chairs with a bentwood
frame and an arched back supporting delicate spindles. For the order to be a commercial success, Ercol perfected the steam-bending of wood in large quantities. The wood selected was English elm
– a wood previously thought impossible to bend because it distorted. Ercol’s innovation meant the chair could be assembled from fourteen pre-formed components, and mechanisation meant that a chair could be made every twenty seconds.
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 ready 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 it represented the latest style and fashion in furniture design and manufacture.
In 2002 Ercol moved to a new purpose-built facility in Princes Risborough
, Buckinghamshire, where it produces furniture made from North American elm
and European ash, beech, oak and walnut from naturally regenerative forests. This facility has won a number of awards for its architecture, design and environmental features. The building's heat and hot water is provided from wood waste, whilst the company does not use solvent-based stains and lacquers, instead using the more environmentally friendly water-based versions. Ercol sources its fabrics from mills in Italy and Belgium, and offers a choice of over 100 different fabrics on its upholstery. Ercol upholstery, with its solid wood frames, can generally have the cushions replaced when they wear out, prolonging the life of the suite. It offers a reCover service to supply replacement cushions.
Ercol's ranges of upholstery, dining, cabinet and occasional furniture are on sale through a network of retailers in the UK, Europe, Japan and Korea and directly to other territories, whilst a range of ex-display and factory seconds are available from its factory outlet in Princes Risborough. Ercol's Gina recliner was the first piece of domestic furniture to be awarded the Ergonomics Excellence award by FIRA, the UK furniture industry's independent furniture test house. In 2008 Ercol launched two bedroom ranges - Savona and Paladina - taking it back into the bedroom.
Ercol has been awarded the Manufacturing Guildmark by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
in recognition of its commitment to design and to quality of manufacture. Ercol's Treviso range was shortlisted for the annual Wood Awards held in the autumn of 2009. In 2010 ercol was awarded two Design Guild Marks by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
out of only twenty issued for the year. The Design Guild Mark is issued by Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers – the industry’s guild. The guild mark is awarded “for excellence in the design of furniture. It will mark and reward the work of the finest designers working in Britain.” The first award was in recognition of the designs of the company’s founder, Lucian Ercolani, embodied in the Originals range. The Originals are a small collection of pieces reissued from Ercol's back catalogue. The Old Man, as he is affectionately known within the company, trained as a furniture designer at Shoreditch Technical Institute, making his first piece of furniture in 1907. The Originals collection reflected a break from the heavy, ornate pre-war styles towards a new clean lined, simple elegance. They were first launched in the late 1950s.
The second award was for Matthew Hilton with the Treviso desk. It shares a similar clean lined simplicity with the Originals, whilst it has a striking modern feel, with its signature sloping front legs and drawer fronts. Matthew was named British Designer of the year by Elle Decoration in 2008. Born in 1957, he studied at Portsmouth College of Art and then at Kingston Polytechnic. In 1985 he set up the Matthew Hilton Design Studio to work with a number of renowned manufacturers and retailers, including ercol.
As well as its presence in UK retailers' stores, and its own showroom at its Princes Risborough facility, Ercol attends a number of trade and consumer exhibitions and holds a number of events at its showroom. In 2009 Ercol will be exhibiting at the design show Tent London which is open to the public and in January 2010 at the national trade show at the NEC, Birmingham Interiors Birmingham.
Ercol partnered design magazine Wallpaper for one of the major installations at the 2009 London Design Festival
- a modern interpretation of the Chair Arch, to be given pride of place in the Central Courtyard of the V&A Museum in September 2009. In Victorian times towns would mark a particularly special occasion, such as the visit of a VIP, with an arch adorned with the town's main commodity. The arch would then form the centre of festivities. In 1877 High Wycombe, famous for its chair manufacturing, built a chair arch for the visit of Queen Victoria to Disraeli at his home, Hughenden Manor. The idea originated with the Town Council, who deputised it to one of their members, Walter Skull, to oragnise through the Chair Manufacturers Association. Just over fifty years later his company, Walter Skull & Son, would become part of Ercol. Later arches were erected for the visit of Queen Elizabeth in 1962 and for the Millennium. The Ercol-Wallpaper arch will though be dramatically different. Designed by Martino Gamper, it comprises two overlapping spans, all of the same chair - Ercol's stacking chair. After showing at the V&A it moved in 2010 to the V&A Museum of Childhood as part of their Sit Down! exhibition of children's seating through the years.
Also as part of the London Design Festival
Ercol also took part in The Dock. Curated by renowned designer Tom Dixon, The Dock is described as "an emporium of creative talent." Situated at The Portabello Dock, the exhibition was over 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²), spanning the Grand Union Canal.
Ercol's Chairman, Edward Tadros, plays an active role in the wider UK furniture industry and in 2009 became chairman of the industry's charity, the Furniture Trades Benevolent Association. Edward is a past Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
.
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, as Furniture Industries by Lucian Ercolani
Lucian Ercolani
Lucian Randolph Ercolani , furniture designer, was born in St Angelo, Tuscany, Italy. His father, Abdon Ercolani, a pictureframe maker, migrated to London, England, in search of work, and in 1898 was joined by his family...
(1888–1976).
In 1944, Ercol was contracted by the government Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
to produce 100,000 low-cost Windsor chair
Windsor chair
A Windsor chair is a chair built with a solid wooden seat into which the chair-back and legs are dowelled, or pushed into drilled holes, in contrast to standard chairs, where the back legs and the uprights of the back are continuous. The seats of Windsor chairs were often carved into a shallow dish...
s – chairs with a bentwood
Bentwood
Bentwood is a term used to describe furniture made by steaming wood, bending it, and letting it harden into curved shapes and patterns, and is most often used in the production of rocking chairs, cafe chairs, and other light furniture. The iconic No...
frame and an arched back supporting delicate spindles. For the order to be a commercial success, Ercol perfected the steam-bending of wood in large quantities. The wood selected was English elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
– a wood previously thought impossible to bend because it distorted. Ercol’s innovation meant the chair could be assembled from fourteen pre-formed components, and mechanisation meant that a chair could be made every twenty seconds.
In 1946, Ercol exhibited its bentwood
Bentwood
Bentwood is a term used to describe furniture made by steaming wood, bending it, and letting it harden into curved shapes and patterns, and is most often used in the production of rocking chairs, cafe chairs, and other light furniture. The iconic No...
furniture at the Britain Can Make It
Britain Can Make It
Britain Can Make It was an exhibition of industrial and product design held in London in 1946. It was organized by the Council of Industrial Design, later to become the Design Council....
exhibition, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London. In 1947, the first production-line Windsor chair
Windsor chair
A Windsor chair is a chair built with a solid wooden seat into which the chair-back and legs are dowelled, or pushed into drilled holes, in contrast to standard chairs, where the back legs and the uprights of the back are continuous. The seats of Windsor chairs were often carved into a shallow dish...
, and other pieces from the range of Windsor furniture, went on sale. Ercol's mass-produced furniture found a ready 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
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
, as it represented the latest style and fashion in furniture design and manufacture.
In 2002 Ercol moved to a new purpose-built facility in Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough is a small town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Bledlow lies to the west and Monks Risborough to the east. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns,...
, Buckinghamshire, where it produces furniture made from North American elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
and European ash, beech, oak and walnut from naturally regenerative forests. This facility has won a number of awards for its architecture, design and environmental features. The building's heat and hot water is provided from wood waste, whilst the company does not use solvent-based stains and lacquers, instead using the more environmentally friendly water-based versions. Ercol sources its fabrics from mills in Italy and Belgium, and offers a choice of over 100 different fabrics on its upholstery. Ercol upholstery, with its solid wood frames, can generally have the cushions replaced when they wear out, prolonging the life of the suite. It offers a reCover service to supply replacement cushions.
Ercol's ranges of upholstery, dining, cabinet and occasional furniture are on sale through a network of retailers in the UK, Europe, Japan and Korea and directly to other territories, whilst a range of ex-display and factory seconds are available from its factory outlet in Princes Risborough. Ercol's Gina recliner was the first piece of domestic furniture to be awarded the Ergonomics Excellence award by FIRA, the UK furniture industry's independent furniture test house. In 2008 Ercol launched two bedroom ranges - Savona and Paladina - taking it back into the bedroom.
Ercol has been awarded the Manufacturing Guildmark by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation was formed in 1951, and the City granted it Livery status in 1963. The Company generally promotes the trade by awarding scholarship to students of the craft.The Company ranks...
in recognition of its commitment to design and to quality of manufacture. Ercol's Treviso range was shortlisted for the annual Wood Awards held in the autumn of 2009. In 2010 ercol was awarded two Design Guild Marks by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation was formed in 1951, and the City granted it Livery status in 1963. The Company generally promotes the trade by awarding scholarship to students of the craft.The Company ranks...
out of only twenty issued for the year. The Design Guild Mark is issued by Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers – the industry’s guild. The guild mark is awarded “for excellence in the design of furniture. It will mark and reward the work of the finest designers working in Britain.” The first award was in recognition of the designs of the company’s founder, Lucian Ercolani, embodied in the Originals range. The Originals are a small collection of pieces reissued from Ercol's back catalogue. The Old Man, as he is affectionately known within the company, trained as a furniture designer at Shoreditch Technical Institute, making his first piece of furniture in 1907. The Originals collection reflected a break from the heavy, ornate pre-war styles towards a new clean lined, simple elegance. They were first launched in the late 1950s.
The second award was for Matthew Hilton with the Treviso desk. It shares a similar clean lined simplicity with the Originals, whilst it has a striking modern feel, with its signature sloping front legs and drawer fronts. Matthew was named British Designer of the year by Elle Decoration in 2008. Born in 1957, he studied at Portsmouth College of Art and then at Kingston Polytechnic. In 1985 he set up the Matthew Hilton Design Studio to work with a number of renowned manufacturers and retailers, including ercol.
As well as its presence in UK retailers' stores, and its own showroom at its Princes Risborough facility, Ercol attends a number of trade and consumer exhibitions and holds a number of events at its showroom. In 2009 Ercol will be exhibiting at the design show Tent London which is open to the public and in January 2010 at the national trade show at the NEC, Birmingham Interiors Birmingham.
Ercol partnered design magazine Wallpaper for one of the major installations at the 2009 London Design Festival
London Design Festival
The London Design Festival was established in 2003 as an annual event to celebrate and promote London as the creative capital of the world and gateway to the UK’s world class creative industries. The Festival acts as a platform for a large and diverse range of partner organisations drawn from...
- a modern interpretation of the Chair Arch, to be given pride of place in the Central Courtyard of the V&A Museum in September 2009. In Victorian times towns would mark a particularly special occasion, such as the visit of a VIP, with an arch adorned with the town's main commodity. The arch would then form the centre of festivities. In 1877 High Wycombe, famous for its chair manufacturing, built a chair arch for the visit of Queen Victoria to Disraeli at his home, Hughenden Manor. The idea originated with the Town Council, who deputised it to one of their members, Walter Skull, to oragnise through the Chair Manufacturers Association. Just over fifty years later his company, Walter Skull & Son, would become part of Ercol. Later arches were erected for the visit of Queen Elizabeth in 1962 and for the Millennium. The Ercol-Wallpaper arch will though be dramatically different. Designed by Martino Gamper, it comprises two overlapping spans, all of the same chair - Ercol's stacking chair. After showing at the V&A it moved in 2010 to the V&A Museum of Childhood as part of their Sit Down! exhibition of children's seating through the years.
Also as part of the London Design Festival
London Design Festival
The London Design Festival was established in 2003 as an annual event to celebrate and promote London as the creative capital of the world and gateway to the UK’s world class creative industries. The Festival acts as a platform for a large and diverse range of partner organisations drawn from...
Ercol also took part in The Dock. Curated by renowned designer Tom Dixon, The Dock is described as "an emporium of creative talent." Situated at The Portabello Dock, the exhibition was over 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²), spanning the Grand Union Canal.
Ercol's Chairman, Edward Tadros, plays an active role in the wider UK furniture industry and in 2009 became chairman of the industry's charity, the Furniture Trades Benevolent Association. Edward is a past Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation was formed in 1951, and the City granted it Livery status in 1963. The Company generally promotes the trade by awarding scholarship to students of the craft.The Company ranks...
.
Source
- L. R. Ercolani A Furniture Maker: His Life, His Works and His Observations, (London: Ernest Benn, 1975)