Basket making was a Leicestershire tradition because of the plentiful raw materials in the Soar valley. However by the end of the nineteenth century most British canework was poorly made with an emphasis on ornament rather than sound construction. Fletcher noted that imported continental willow and canework sold well. In 1906 he visited Austria and Germany to study examples of cane furniture and the production methods. He admired the avant-garde cane pieces produced by Josef Hoffman, Koloman Moser and other designers of the Vienna Secession but he was particularly impressed by the Dresden firm of Theodor Reimann for whom Richard Riemerschmid had designed a range of cane furniture.
On his return to Leicester Fletcher began making experimental pieces with a local basket maker, Charles Crampton, and persuaded Peach that together they could make it into a successful business. Dryad was set up in February 1907with Peach as the proprietor and Fletcher as the chief designer. By the end of the year 30 designs were in production made by four men in a workshop at the back of Peach’s Belvoir Street premises.
The Dryad philosophy was that their furniture should be, ‘of sound construction and special attention to design for comfortable use. It was suitable for indoor and outdoor use, it was both strong and light and, although it was washable, it needed very little cleaning. Fletcher’s designs were less stylized than Viennese and German examples because he felt that their severely geometric approach conflicted with the flexible nature of cane. He was the main designer until the First World War but not the only one. Others including Geoffrey Egan, William H Stevens and Vernon Everett were students or former students at Leicester School of Art. The workforce at Dryad was also encouraged to contribute to the design and manufacturing process. They attended classes in craft and design at the School of Art and could gain financial rewards by making suggestions for improvements.