We’re lucky enough to be working for legendary British furniture manufacturer Ercol at the moment, and perhaps luckier still to have been given a full tour of their factory by design director Ruth Wasserman.

Ercol has been producing furniture in the UK for 92 years and is still run by the same family. They count many classic furniture pieces in their catalogue, some of which have remained for sale and almost completely unchanged since their initial introduction. Buying better and buying less often is something I think everyone would agree is sensible, and with everything being made in their Princes Risborough factory, this is a genuine testament to quality British design and manufacturing. It’s something that we try hard to advocate, so to spend time watching 2nd or 3rd generation Ercol craftsmen making beautiful furniture using traditional joinery techniques was a real privilege. Of particular interest was the steam bending room, where they still use techniques pioneered by Lucian R Ercolani, the company’s founder. I could certainly spend a long time talking about it… but I won’t! So here’s a few pictures which will be much more interesting!