06th August 2016
If you’ve always gone to the high street for your leather furniture, then it may surprise you to know that you can actually get superior quality, hand-crafted traditional and modern styles for less from a ‘not on the high street’ retailer.
In a world of fast fashions and throw away trend, it’s reassuring to know there are still retailers who care about making something that lasts. Most high street furniture is mass produced and imported from the Far East with the predominant aim of satisfying a particular consumer trend as opposed to being built to last.
For the 35 years, the team at Thomas Lloyd have been designing and hand-making traditional leather furniture from their family-run factory in Wales, building a reputation for quality, craftsmanship and service.
From the hand buttoned, distressed leather Vintage Chesterfield to sleek, contemporary sofa models such as the Aspen and the Burlington, the Thomas Lloyd range appeals across generations and is often a fraction of the cost of the products showcased by high street retailers.
Thomas Lloyd vs. John Lewis
Let’s take John Lewis’ popular ‘Halo Earle Grand Chesterfield’ which is made in China and will set you back £2,399. With a hardwood frame and old saddle nut aniline leather, this mass produced leather sofa boasts lesser quality credentials than Thomas Lloyd’s UK handcrafted ‘Vintage Chesterfield’ but is £950 more expensive. Whilst the ‘Halo Earle Grand Chesterfield’ ticks the ‘good looking’ box, aniline leather is very porous and delicate and doesn’t perform well as an everyday sofa. Aniline will absorb dirt, oil and grease, which will eventually ruin the feel and finish. It is also susceptible to fading, and even with indirect sunlight, the colour can change dramatically.
When in comes to seating, the foam inside the ‘Halo Earle Grand Chesterfield’ is cut to size from one single block, which means it won’t be stable and will inevitably shift over time. Compare this to the cold cure foam moulding used by Thomas Lloyd used in the construction of all their leather sofas, whereby each cushion is manufactured into the desired shape using an individual mould, and you have a leather sofa seat pad that will last a lifetime.
Suspension is equally as important as seating. Over time elasticated webbing will inevitably cause sinking, especially if you need your leather sofa to withstand the stresses and strains of everyday use. Thomas Lloyd uses superior serpentine high-tensile steel springing systems, which means that every spring we use is entirely self-supporting and will not buckle or sink. They also spring the backs and arms of all of their traditional leather furniture.
When you are spending thousands on pounds on a leather sofa, a lengthy guarantee gives you peace of mind and implies that you have made an investment purchase. High street furniture typically falls into the standard 30-day guarantee policy which should ring alarm bells when you are purchasing a product that you expect to longer than the average garment. John Lewis is more favourable than most high street retailers when it comes to its returns policy – but it doesn’t take a genius to wise-up to which one of these two retailers is really selling furniture that lasts.
Thomas Lloyd vs. Next
The same mass produced characteristics can be seen in another comparable leather sofa style – this time from high street furniture retailer, Next. The ‘Gosford’ leather sofa retailing at £1,899 fails to mention its origin on the label but is also covered in a type of alinine leather – this time light tan antiqued leather. This leather sofa from Next doesn’t offer any more than the John Lewis leather sofa did in terms of leather quality. When you compare the ‘Gosford’ from Next to the similar looking ‘Cambridge’ from Thomas Lloyd (which at £1,149 also comes in at £750 cheaper) you can immediately see the difference in leather quality when you look at both leather sofas side-by-side.The ‘Cambridge’ is covered in long lasting and durable vintage cracked wax leather which won’t stain or fade.
So, no matter how good high street furniture looks, it’s usually the elements that aren’t on show that will determine its quality, durability and long-term comfort. It is these elements that make Thomas Lloyd furniture last considerably longer than high street shop furniture. The best bit is that their prices are typically around 30% less that you’d expect to pay for a mass produced leather sofa on the high street.
In a world of fast fashions and throw away trend, it’s reassuring to know there are still retailers who care about making something that lasts. Most high street furniture is mass produced and imported from the Far East with the predominant aim of satisfying a particular consumer trend as opposed to being built to last.
For the 35 years, the team at Thomas Lloyd have been designing and hand-making traditional leather furniture from their family-run factory in Wales, building a reputation for quality, craftsmanship and service.
From the hand buttoned, distressed leather Vintage Chesterfield to sleek, contemporary sofa models such as the Aspen and the Burlington, the Thomas Lloyd range appeals across generations and is often a fraction of the cost of the products showcased by high street retailers.
Thomas Lloyd vs. John Lewis
Let’s take John Lewis’ popular ‘Halo Earle Grand Chesterfield’ which is made in China and will set you back £2,399. With a hardwood frame and old saddle nut aniline leather, this mass produced leather sofa boasts lesser quality credentials than Thomas Lloyd’s UK handcrafted ‘Vintage Chesterfield’ but is £950 more expensive. Whilst the ‘Halo Earle Grand Chesterfield’ ticks the ‘good looking’ box, aniline leather is very porous and delicate and doesn’t perform well as an everyday sofa. Aniline will absorb dirt, oil and grease, which will eventually ruin the feel and finish. It is also susceptible to fading, and even with indirect sunlight, the colour can change dramatically.
When in comes to seating, the foam inside the ‘Halo Earle Grand Chesterfield’ is cut to size from one single block, which means it won’t be stable and will inevitably shift over time. Compare this to the cold cure foam moulding used by Thomas Lloyd used in the construction of all their leather sofas, whereby each cushion is manufactured into the desired shape using an individual mould, and you have a leather sofa seat pad that will last a lifetime.
Suspension is equally as important as seating. Over time elasticated webbing will inevitably cause sinking, especially if you need your leather sofa to withstand the stresses and strains of everyday use. Thomas Lloyd uses superior serpentine high-tensile steel springing systems, which means that every spring we use is entirely self-supporting and will not buckle or sink. They also spring the backs and arms of all of their traditional leather furniture.
When you are spending thousands on pounds on a leather sofa, a lengthy guarantee gives you peace of mind and implies that you have made an investment purchase. High street furniture typically falls into the standard 30-day guarantee policy which should ring alarm bells when you are purchasing a product that you expect to longer than the average garment. John Lewis is more favourable than most high street retailers when it comes to its returns policy – but it doesn’t take a genius to wise-up to which one of these two retailers is really selling furniture that lasts.
Thomas Lloyd vs. Next
The same mass produced characteristics can be seen in another comparable leather sofa style – this time from high street furniture retailer, Next. The ‘Gosford’ leather sofa retailing at £1,899 fails to mention its origin on the label but is also covered in a type of alinine leather – this time light tan antiqued leather. This leather sofa from Next doesn’t offer any more than the John Lewis leather sofa did in terms of leather quality. When you compare the ‘Gosford’ from Next to the similar looking ‘Cambridge’ from Thomas Lloyd (which at £1,149 also comes in at £750 cheaper) you can immediately see the difference in leather quality when you look at both leather sofas side-by-side.The ‘Cambridge’ is covered in long lasting and durable vintage cracked wax leather which won’t stain or fade.
So, no matter how good high street furniture looks, it’s usually the elements that aren’t on show that will determine its quality, durability and long-term comfort. It is these elements that make Thomas Lloyd furniture last considerably longer than high street shop furniture. The best bit is that their prices are typically around 30% less that you’d expect to pay for a mass produced leather sofa on the high street.
