Ercol Heritage
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ercol.com
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Born in 1888 in Tuscany, Lucian, the son of a picture-frame
maker, came to London as a child, and studied drawing,
design and furniture-making at night-school in Shoreditch.
As a young man, he moved to High Wycombe, then the
‘furniture capital of England’, where he worked alongside
some of the era’s leading designers and manufacturers,
before branching out on his own in 1920.
Lucian was a pioneering designer, and placed design at
the heart of everything he did and produced. In the early
1950s, he launched a range of affordable, honest and
functional furniture with beautiful, distinctive outlines and
subtle details that would become a household name. But
he was equally committed to people and the traditional
skills of hand craftsmanship – values we still uphold today.
Lucian believed that when he founded the company, he
was also establishing a dynasty. That vision has been
realised through his sons and grandson, Edward Tadros,
who retired as chairman having worked within the business
for 49 years. Sharing his grandfather’s passion for design
and manufacturing processes, Edward was instrumental
in developing and building our award-winning factory in
Princes Risborough.
In 2022 Edward stepped down as chairman, to be succeeded
by his son, and Lucian’s great-grandson, Henry. The company
is now one of only a handful of large firms to remain fully
owned and managed by the fourth generation of the founder’s
family. And, in addition, ercol has won numerous awards
and delighted customers across the world, we believe this
achievement would make Lucian proudest of all.
Our company was
founded by Lucian
R Ercolani, whose vision
and approach to design
still exert enormous
influence as we embark
on our second century.
Top right: ercol founder, Lucian
Ercolani. Below: Lucian Ercolani,
affectionately known as “The
Old Man” and his two sons,
Lucian B and Barry, circa 1968.
Top: The ercol factory and headquarters
in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire.
Left: ercol Chairman Henry Tadros and
his father Edward, former Chairman.
