Lucian Ercolani

With nearly 15 years of furniture making experience under his belt, Ercolani founded Furniture Industries Limited in 1920 in rural High Wycombe. This company was renamed Ercol in 1928, becoming the world-famous brand known today. Ercolani had an altruistic approach to furniture making. He was less concerned with profit than making functional, well-made and attractive furniture for the masses. Ercol furniture was a popular alternative to Danish imports during the 1950s through to the 1970s, offering light coloured ranges, constructed from elm and beechwood. Ercol still produces furniture today, but following the Dutch elm disease epidemic during the 1960s, elm has been replaced by ash. The use of elm in the original pieces has made them highly collectable and has created huge demand in Asian markets.