100 years of Ercol
Founded in 1920 in High Wycombe by young Italian Lucian R Ercolani, Ercol’s timeless designs remain popular to this day.
Ercolani’s goal was to make furniture that was well designed and made by craftsmen who took real pride in their work. We often work on original Ercol frames from the 1950s and 60s, which is testament to their beautiful design styles and craftsmanship.
It’s really interesting to consider that before launching Ercol, Lucian spent time working for - and forming friendships with - both Harry Parker, from the influential Frederick Parker furniture makers which later became Parker-Knoll, and Ted Gomme of ‘Gommes’, who were to become G Plan in the 1950s.
It can’t be coincidence that mid century furniture by these three manufacturers all work so sympathetically together within an interior scheme. We love to mix and match these styles here at Reloved.
To celebrate 100 years of Ercol, we're taking a look back over some of our favourite Ercol makeovers since the opening of Reloved Upholstery back in 2014.
Simion’s latest Ercol makeover is this beautiful Evergreen model, with stunning Blazer wool by Camira fabrics, chosen by our lovely customer in shade ‘Abertay’.
Originally designed in 1957, the Evergreen’s striking back bow is steam bent by hand by two craftsmen in Ercol’s factory in exactly the same way today as it was back in 1957.
Below is another example of the Ercol Evergreen style, this time a two seater sofa. Simion likes to leave the beautiful back spindles uncovered by creating simple scatter cushions instead of the large back cushion originally intended for this design. This gives a nice twist on the original design that celebrates the beauty of the frame itself.
Designed to function both as a large sofa and an occasional single bed for guests, the Ercol Studio Couch was first introduced in 1956. Simion loved working on the example below with Jay Blades of Jay & Co.
The frame was coated black and a bold contrasting fabric by Timorous Beasties was chosen to use on the seat cushion, creating a really dramatic look.
Speaking of bold, did you catch Simion's Ercol Rainbow chairs last Summer?
Created for the BBC's Money for Nothing to coincide with Manchester's Pride festival in 2019, these Ercol Carver frames were saved from landfill and brought to the Reloved Works studio for a colourful makeover.
The bright and playful fabric for the seat cushion was sourced from the brilliant Bon Maison and was the perfect fit for this super fun makeover.
We hope you've enjoyed looking back over some of our favourite Ercol makeovers. If you’d like to find out more about Ercol’s history, there is a really interesting timeline over on their website.
Do you own Ercol furniture that's in need of some TLC?
Whatever the model, we'd love to give your chairs the Reloved treatment. With so many fabric choices and colour options for the frames themselves, along with a choice of cushion styles, you really can design your own unique chair. So do get in touch.
Photo credit: Ercol Studio couch Jay Blades of Jay & Co