Lloyd Loom, the century-old weave behind Vincent Sheppard's furniture
What Lloyd Loom actually is, why the Belgian house built its identity on it in 1992, and why the technique stays indoors while the outdoor collections weave rope and rattan-look synthetics instead.
Lloyd Loom is a century-old weaving technique that wraps kraft paper around a core of metal wire, then machine-weaves the yarn into a stiff, textured sheet. Vincent Sheppard, the Belgian house founded in 1992 in Kortrijk, built its business importing Lloyd Loom furniture before becoming a manufacturer itself. The technique still runs through much of the catalogue — but only indoors. Because the weave's core is paper, Vincent Sheppard keeps it off outdoor pieces, and uses polypropylene rope and rattan-look synthetic weaves out there instead.
Three years after founding the company, Vincent Sheppard built its own factory in Cirebon, Indonesia, a region with a long weaving and rattan-bending tradition, and moved from importer to manufacturer. The company received FSC certification in 2013 and describes itself as the worldwide market leader in paper-loom furniture, exporting to more than eighty countries. A new showroom opened in Kortrijk in 2023. The house works with a group of Belgian designers, chiefly Studio Segers — Wim and Bob Segers — alongside Alain Gilles and Jessy Van Durme.
Because the weave's core is paper, no amount of finishing turns Lloyd Loom into an outdoor material — which is why Vincent Sheppard draws a hard line between what goes inside and what goes on a terrace.
What the catalogue keeps indoors
Joe, Victor, Avril, Jack, Lily and Titus are the collections built in genuine Lloyd Loom, wrapped over oak or steel frames. They range from tub chairs and cocoons to bar stools and full sofas, and they stay inside — a paper-core weave is not built to survive rain and freeze-thaw cycles the way a terrace demands.
What replaces it outside
Kodo combines ceramic, industrial aluminum and polypropylene rope. Wicked, Lucy and Roy use a rattan-look woven material that reads close to the real thing without the upkeep. Frida and David pair teak frames with hand-woven polypropylene rope. Cleo, Sweep, Ribbon and Akari build the same idea onto powder-coated aluminum. None of it is Lloyd Loom, but the logic — a textured, hand-worked surface over a light structural frame — carries over from the technique the company was founded on.
For US buyers, Vincent Sheppard collections reach the market through authorized dealers, with lead times that vary by line and finish. The full range, indoor and outdoor, with designer attributions, is in our Vincent Sheppard profile.