HENRY & HENRY HB Chair by Vincent Sheppard

 

 

 

 

The advantages of Lloyd Loom have long been known. Not only is this woven Kraft paper extremely durable, it is also resistant to bending, does not lose its shape or crack. In addition, its smooth finish ensures that clothing does not stick to the surface of the seat. It is easy to keep clean and very low maintenance. Lloyd Loom is a sturdy material that makes considerable demands on craftsmanship. As the seams must be invisible, extra restrictions are set on the design. Yet Vincent Sheppard has shown true mastery in working with these limitations. In the new design, the durability of the material ensures unprecedented sitting comfort together with virtually invisible seams.

Vincent Sheppard N.V. is based in Belgium. Final finishing of furniture and accessories also takes place at Spiere, not far from Kortrijk - the home of Vincent Sheppard Lloyd Loom furniture. The Design, Quality Control, Marketing, and General Management departments work closely together to produce our famous high-quality Lloyd Loom furniture.

We also run a Lloyd Loom production plant in Indonesia (PT Vincent Sheppard Indonesia), where we employ some 300 people. Founded in 1995, each worker are trained to a high level, until they have the necessary skills to completely finish a piece of Lloyd Loom furniture. All of our rattan-frame products are made in Indonesia, where there is a long tradition of rattan-working and of chair-weaving.

Another 120 people work at PT Vincent Sheppard Hungary Kft, founded in 1998, where all our beechwood-frame Lloyd Loom products are made by highly-trained specialists.

This beechwood frame model is produced in Hungary by trained specialists. The best-looking beechwood is selected and treated with protective products. This furniture has also withstood the toughest durability tests.

History & Philosophy

In 1917, the American entrepreneur Marshall Burns Lloyd patented a method of twisting kraft paper around a steel wire. These paper-wrapped wires were then woven on a loom, thereby creating a fine, regular and solid weave that strongly resembled rattan, but stronger and more solid because it was reinforced with steel wire. Marshall Burns christened this weave Lloyd Loom. Furniture made from Lloyd Loom was an enormous success in the United States. As a consequence, Lloyd concluded a licensing agreement during the 1920’s with an English manufacturer who used the Lloyd Loom material in an original manner and created romantic English furniture collections.

In turn, Lloyd Loom became the rage all over Europe. Lloyd Loom furniture was seen everywhere: in hotels, restaurants, tea rooms, even on the Zeppelins, as well as on the promenade decks of luxury cruise liners. At the end of the second world war, production ceased due to the bombing and subsequent destruction of the English factory.

In the early 1990s Vincent Sheppard began importing small quantities of Lloyd Loom furniture from England. Demand grew so much that the English supplier could no longer keep pace. A production plant was started in Indonesia. Not content with this, Vincent Sheppard set up a second production installation in 1998 in Hungary to develop a new line based on beech wood frames.

Today, Vincent Sheppard is one of the few vertically integrated Lloyd Loom manufacturers. We control the entire production process from paper twisting and weaving to upholstering the Lloyd Loom. The furniture is then finished in almost any colour. We have a fully owned plant in Indonesia, Hungary and in Belgium, where our headquarters are based. We have a young team of in-house designers who bring innovative proposals every six months and we refresh our collection on a frequent basis. From Melbourne to Milan, from Tokyo to Toronto, with our different representations we are currently selling our line in more than 30 countries and are participating in the most renown furniture fairs over the world: Maison et Objet in Paris, Salone del Mobile in Milan, The Furniture Show in Birmingham, IMM in Cologne, Mebel in Moskou, Interior Lifestyle in Tokyo…

With this unique line of furniture, Vincent Sheppard stands for legendary seating comfort, fit for the new century, yet retaining the authentic touch that makes Lloyd Loom so distinctive and appealing.

May we invite you to share the legacy with us…