As I was digging through the far back corner of a local antique shop, I hit the jackpot
Several years ago, our oldest daughter (DD1), purchased a small vintage Lloyd Loom hamper from the Shabby Chic store in Malibu. Her dream of working for Rachel Ashwell was fulfilled after graduation, but the hope of seeing more of the linen hampers come through the stores was not. Having a frequent shopper mom has it advantages; as I was digging through the far back corner of a local antique shop, I spotted not one, but two! Although dirty, they were in excellent condition and still had the original “Lusty” tags. As you can see in the above photo, the smaller hamper was missing a foot – easy to replicate. The prices were low, so even after adding in shipping to California, they were a great find.
While I was busy emptying numerous cans of spray paint, my upholstery shop recovered the horse hair top with Jubilee fabric – DD1′s favorite Ashwell floral print.
For the interior, she sent a queen size sheet in the Sprinkles pattern – sprinkled with tiny pink rosebuds. The seamstress did a terrific job, using my supplied dimensions and a pattern for the odd shaped bottom of the small hamper. The double sided, reversible liners hang from grommets on cup hooks (below), copied from DD1′s original purchase. The seamstress made sure the Shabby Chic label shows, and made a duplicate on her machine for the second hamper.
The first Lloyd Loom product to conquered the market was the baby pram. 1,500 employees supplied the demand for the carriages around the world. The products are constructed of a weave made from twisted kraft paper spun around a fine galvanized wire. It is then applied over steam-bent beech wood frames. Known for its durability and longevity, its Lusty products were made in Europe beginning in 1921. They merged with Heywood-Wakefield in America, which closed in the 1980′s. Today, Lloyd Loom Furniture Gallery creates British Woven Fibre Furniture suitable for indoors and protected outdoors areas.
If you discover a vintage piece of Lloyd Loom on your journeys, be sure to look it over well – don’t be afraid to turn it upside down. Sit in the piece, if applicable, to judge the sturdiness of the frame. Looks for splits and fraying. A slight split may only hurt the appearance a tad, and painting is always an option. DD1 still has me looking for vintage linen baskets, but I will only help add to her collection if they are of a decent size (some are very tiny), in excellent condition (no splits or frays), have an original tag (her request) and are low enough in price to justify shipping (total cost of this pair was about two-thirds of her Shabby Chic purchase).
