WEDNESDAY WICKER WISDOM–Where did the wicker furniture industry begin?
Here’s a bit about the wicker furniture industry that I bet you didn’t know…
That the wicker furniture industry actually began right here in the United States in the 1840s!
Although wicker furniture had been made throughout the ages and was even found inside the pyramids, Boston grocer Cyrus Wakefield was the first to actually begin the industry of wicker furniture manufacturing.
He devised a method of making wicker furniture from bunches of rattan reed that were used as dunnage to protect cargo on sailing ships.
This pliable material was being discarded and thrown overboard after serving its purpose of protecting cargo.
The enterprising man bought the rattan, began making woven furniture out of it and started the business that later became the Wakefield Rattan Company, the first, largest and best-known wicker furniture company in the industry!
