The Paper Trail of Wicker Patio Sets By Tonya Korniva At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

When it comes to outdoor furniture, wicker patio sets are a popular choice. Of the types, wood wicker, made from predominantly bamboo, willow and rattan are the most common. Recently, the marketing of an all-weather synthetic resin wicker has revolutionized the market. However, much less is known about the short period of time when another material called paper fiber was the wicker of choice, or as the folks would say back then, the bee’s knees.

What is Paper Fiber?
The original name for this material was art fiber, or fiber reed, but these days it’s mostly known as creative twist, or simply paper fiber. Unlike original reed wicker, which dates back to ancient Egyptian times, the process of using paper fiber originated right here in the United States. In 1904 paper fiber was created out of manmade, chemically treated kraft paper that was twisted into a ropelike structure. The reason paper fiber was invented was because in response to an embargo that was placed on oriental rattan coming in to the USA. Because it was now so inconvenient and prohibitively expensive to get a hold of rattan, manufacturers came up with paper. In addition, the switch to paper saved manpower and the tedious amount of time required to hand weave elaborate Victorian style furniture. The cheap new alternate material still managed to resemble expensive Victorian rattan imports, and thusly achieved incredibly popularity in wicker patio sets up through the 1930s.

Surprisingly, paper proved to be a versatile and malleable material, in addition to its low production costs. In practice, the base pulp is first treated with sizing and glue and then twisted into strands that resemble rattan. Because of its properties, paper was a good choice for wicker patio sets as it could be fashioned into many sizes and colors due to its porous nature and can easily be manipulated without having to soak the wicker as was the case with reed wicker.

As you can imagine, paper fiber quickly became stiff competition for traditional rattan furniture. Not only was it cheaper but it was easier to repaint than rattan. Once industrialization set in, all wicker became mass-produced, rather than woven by hand, which further heightened sales. The Lloyd Loom was created in 1917 to more quickly and efficiently weave products while lowering production and labor costs. Then, in the 1920s, a wire core was added to the fiber strands to reinforce them.

Paper fiber found another outlet beyond wicker patio sets. Wooden chair manufacturers used the new material, which was now available in sheets, as the seat bottoms of wood chairs. Consumers of paper fiber liked how it came in a continuous strand, so there was no need to worry about joining multiple pieces together. It also took well to varnish and lacquers. So common was its occurrence in pop culture that classrooms and social groups would engage in art fiber weaving.

The downside to paper fiber is that in the long run it did not prove to be as durable as other types of wicker. Also, it was not good to get it wet and would not react as well to moisture as wood. Paper fiber wicker patio sets fell out of favor in the 1940s, helped probably in part by the onset of WWII. Although it’s not produced much these days, you can still find paper fiber furniture, and original versions from the early 1900s are coveted by antique collectors.

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