Lloyd Loom Wicker Patio Furniture
Introduction
This article is written to present to you Lloyd Loom Wicker Patio Furniture and Lloyd Flanders(r)’ furniture products and to provide you with the background of the Lloyd Flanders company. I will focus on Marshall Burns Lloyd and his development of the Lloyd Loom(r) process. It also provides an overview of Lloyd Flanders company’s current products and processes. Lloyd Loom wicker furniture has been a source of inspiration for a long time and remains the preferred furniture in wicker that is sought-after by aristocrats and commoners alike.
Lloyd Flanders Known for Quality Beautiful Wicker Patio Furniture
The Lloyd Flanders name has been synonymous with the words “quality elegant wicker” and for reasons that are well-founded. The Lloyd Flanders company has been around for a little over 100 years with some changes to its names and ownership. Since its founding, the company has continuously developed its strategies in the informal outdoor and indoor furniture market, including wicker patio furniture.
American furniture icon Lloyd Flanders furniture. Stemming from its invention of woven loom wicker furniture to its historical advancements in durability and comfort, Lloyd Flanders has made the biggest advancements in modern casual wicker furniture manufacturing.
Marshall B. Lloyd the Inventor
Marshal Burns Lloyd had the vision, the knowledge and ability to create his own manufacturing company that resulted in the development of the Lloyd Loom process. His goal was to offer high-quality furniture made of wicker to the world at a lower cost and cheaper than the manual weaving process. He was enthusiastic about his pursuit and capable to carry on his mission.
Lloyd was unhappy with the cumbersome and costly method Lloyd needed to weave furniture made of wicker. It was also not strong enough to be used outdoors. The result was that he sought an easier method to create wicker furniture that used common materials, but with more durability and significantly less effort, thus reducing costs and improving the desirability of the product.
A Little History about Marshall B. Lloyd
Marshall B. Lloyd was living from March 10, 1858 to August 10, 1927. He was an acknowledged inventor and manufacturer. Lloyd moved around a lot in his youth , between Canada as well as the United States. He had a variety of jobs. He did well and failed in a variety of things. Lloyd was an exceptional example of adversity and initiative. He also created a scale which could be utilized by farmers while working. Lloyd received a part interest in the C. O. in exchange for his permission to utilize the machine he used for weaving mats for tables and doors made of wire. White Manufacturing Company. Later, he patented the machine which weaves spring mattresses from wire. This became very well-known. This enabled him to purchase out the White company in 1900 . In the same year, he founded the Lloyd Manufacturing Company.
Lloyd Flanders Factory Menominee Michigan
Marshal B. Lloyd, the Marshal of Michigan, moved his factory to Menominee in the year 1906. Today the Lloyd Flanders plant is still there.
Lloyd Manufacturing was involved in the creation and production of various products. This is where he successfully developed a manufacturing process that could make wire wheels for baby carriages. In the year 1910, he got his second patent. He invented the machine to produce thin tubes of steel ribbons, and the machinery used to create Wickerware. These were essential steps that led to the Lloyd Loom wicker furniture, that is one of the most popular wicker items.
Lloyd transforms the way the furniture made of wicker is created
In his attempts to develop new manufacturing products, Marshall B. Lloyd modified the way in which he was manufacturing Wicker furniture. In 1916, he developed and created the process of producing loom-wicker furniture. In 1917, the procedure was registered.
For the fabric wicker weaving, the loom process was accompanied by wire reinforcement for extra strength. Instead of using wicker cane and hand weaving it onto wooden frames, Lloyd’s process included manufacturing the weaving sheets of wicker separately from the frames. After which, the fabric was cut to size before being attached to metal frames. The woven trim pieces were added to smooth up the edges.
Change the Seats of Control
In 1921, the Heywood-Wakefield Co. took over the management of Lloyd Manufacturing. In 1982, Don and Dudley Flanders bought Lloyd Manufacturing from Heywood-Wakefield. They renamed the company Lloyd Flanders. Lloyd Flanders began to produce modern loom-wicker furniture that is suitable for outdoor use.
The new loom process requires 75% less time to complete than hand-weaving. A baby carriage that typically requires a weaver for a day to weave would take just 15 minutes to create by using the Lloyd Loom process. One loom machine took the place of thirty weavers.
The background of Lloyd Loom Manufacturing Process
In 1917, Marshall Lloyd was mainly making wicker baby buggies through the weaving process. The Lloyd Loom process grew into a fully-fledged furniture manufacturing facility through the Heywood and Wakefield owners.
Marshall Burns Lloyd invented the method by which fibers of cellulose are made into a wicker cloth in lieu of the popular method of wrapping cane around a frame and weaving intricate designs. Each piece of Lloyd Loom wicker furniture is handcrafted using the same process as the original 1917 creation. Modern technology has allowed for continuous strands that don’t cracked, brittle or peel in the years since 1982. This has led to the same smooth weave.
Lloyd Flanders created the furniture that is outdoor-friendly. It has evolved into a long-lasting line of outdoor furniture made from wicker. It’s visually appealing as well as practical for indoor and outdoor use. Lloyd Flanders has been the most desired and trusted wicker furniture manufacturer to date.
Lloyd Loom Frames
Metal frames are fashioned using either aluminum or stainless steel tubing. These metals have been chosen in order to avoid rust causing the premature degrading of. The tubes are cut, then bent into the correct designs using hydraulic presses. Before assembly, the frames are cleaned and prepared.
Weaving the Lloyd Loom Fabric
The smaller spools used to make the wicker cord are wound on larger spools which are fed into the looms. The looms draw the cord simultaneously from over 500 spools, forming the Lloyd Loom Fabric.
It is a continuous process from start to finish. The finished wicker fabric is 39 inches wide. It is then rolled into massive length spools. Lloyd Loom fabric has a distinctive feature: it is made of aluminum wire that is contained within the fabric in horizontal pieces called stakes.
The stakes are put into the loom to be connected to the normal paper cord. These stakes increased the longevity and strength of the fabric wicker-loom.
Sealing the Lloyd Loom Wicker fabric
Once the weaving process has been completed the loom fabric is sealed completely by submerging it in a bath of latex to ensure that it can withstand the elements of the outdoors. The loom fabric is then dried prior to being transferred onto the large spools that are then placed in storage or immediately transported to the cutting room.
Upholstering The Lloyd Loom Frames
After the loom fabric has been dried and sealed, it can be wrapped on large spools and cut to fit into the furniture frames made of metal. The spools with the loom finished are transported into the cutting room, ready to use. The fabric is cut and sized in the cutting room before being attached to the frame. The wicker fabric will be stretched tight and stapled onto the metal frames.
Every piece of fabric is fitted to the aluminum frames by skilled craftsmen. They then form and join frames at the factory. The edges are then trimmed, and wicker braid that has been pre-woven is put in place and stapled by hand so that every piece is flawlessly finished, leaving no rough or unattractive edges. Many processes combine to make the Lloyd Flanders award-winning Lloyd Loom all weather wicker furniture.