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28th August 2018
“Ars Longa Vita Brevis” translates to “Life is short, but art endures” and is the latin motto inscribed above the fire place in the drawing room at Red House. We’ve recently been looking through some amazing quotes from Morris himself, and thought we could share them with you.
With such a diverse range of interests and passions, there’s lots of topics that Morris covers with his quotes.
Our top William Morris quote, and one that we have printed onto some of our products is perhaps his most famous and one that is still all over Pinterest and held in iconic status (and practice) for many interior designers;
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’’ – William Morris.
A simple quote, but one that shows his attitude towards design; everything should serve a purpose whether that brings you joy through its beauty or practicality – knowing he designed all his textiles to be beautiful makes this rule even easier if you have his designs throughout your home. Since many of our products are functional as well as beautiful William Morris designs, we tick both boxes!
To summarise his beliefs on society; “I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.”
A quote that we believe resonates with us in terms of how we like to live, “The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” – how lovely is that! With the recent increase of the belief of mindfulness, this quote from Morris will still resonate with modern audiences.
Another quote that’s quite well known from William Morris and one that’s quite inspirational in terms of creative motivation, “A good way to rid one’s self of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character.” ― William Morris
Whenever we think of everything Morris did and achieved throughout his life, every creative craft process he mastered, perhaps we can gain an insight into his determination and motivation with his quote from ”The Well At The World’s End: Volume I,” where he said, “With the arrogance of youth, I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, and blessed, and the work goes on.” – William Morris
The last quote we adore of Morris’ is one that gets better every time we read it with even more meaning, “Not on one strand are all life’s jewels strung.” The fact remains that with such a zest for life, from his work, family, friends, travel, poetry and literature, politics and of course, his designs, there’s so many jewels on his strand! It’s all about the different things that come together to make life amazing!
There we go! Lots of wonderful William Morris quotes, such an interesting and talented man, we love to learn more about him via his words as well as his designs!
Posted in News by Laura
Still dreaming of last summer with my wedding bouquet and our “Jean” design we had for our napkins 🫶🏻 It’s an original Laura’s Beau design out our archive and named after my lovely Nanny, we have it in blue and this sage green, but we’re always dreaming of new colour ways to print it in 💭 What colour do you think would look good? ✨
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#smallbusinessowner #bridalbouquets #weddingtable #bouquet #floral
Golden Lily on the table today 🧁 everything should feel special even a little coffee and cake with friends, so we dressed the table up for it to make it extra special, isn’t Golden Lily such a beautiful William Morris design, one of our all time favourites ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #goldenlily #floraltable #floralprint
Gorgeous William Morris Sweet Briar fabric! 🌿 Love the green leaves and pink flowers 🫶🏻 We have it in cotton, heavyweight cotton, and pvc, so you’ll find the perfect fit for your project ✨ 🪡🧵
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #fabricstash #ukfabric #wmorris
We’re having a moving sale over on our website! ✨ There are some absolute bargains to be had, including all these items! 🛒 Remember we offer free UK postage on all orders too 🌿 Plus we have a 15% off code running at the moment with code; JAN15 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #wmorris #smallukbusiness #smallshop #floralprint
We’ve got some fab bundles on our Etsy - we have a lot of offcuts from end of rolls and floral fabric magic can’t be wasted so we bundle them up ✨ Perfect for crafting, we have heavyweight fabric bundles and cotton available now, but hurry, they always sell out quick 🥰
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorris #wmorris #fabricstack #ukfabric
Guess who has a new bed for our new offices ✨ The king of naps, he will wake for biscuits, pets and little else during his day in the office 🫶🏻 His bed is covered in our licensed William Morris Willow Bough green and it looks so beautiful 🌿 The perfect bed to nap on all day ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #blacklab #blacklabsquad #dogbeds
Has anyone got any January crafts? ❄️ After we’ve settled in our new office, we’re planning some cosy January crafts whilst we hibernate a little! 🌨️ This board is a beautiful way to display photos and notes that was covered in a fabric we no longer loved so last year I recovered it with something we did like - a range of our exclusive quilting fabrics and now it hangs proudly on the wall, showing you can upcycle things to be something you really love 🫶🏻
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#cosycraftclub #crafting #fabric #fabriccraft #upcycle
We’ve been a little quiet on here as we’ve been in the absolute trenches moving our office! ✨ Now we just need to settle in and find everything we’ve shoved in boxes and bags and then stashed in random places(!) but, we’re getting there 🫶🏻 Nothing will change for you ordering but we’ll have a new returns address 📮 It’s taken an absolute task force to move all that fabric and products and we’ve found some things for a little moving sale if anyone is interested… ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #smallbusiness #smallbusinesswomen #uksmallbusiness
Not long to go until Christmas now ✨ Have you got your Christmas table sorted and your presents wrapped? 🎄
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#williammorris #wmorris #independantbusiness #christmastable #festivetable
The stockings were hung by the fire with care…✨ A week until Christmas Eve! 🎄 Still lots of time to order since we post the next working day with a 24hr service 🤶🏻
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#williammorris #wmorris #christmasgiftidea #smallbusinessgiftguide #christmasstocking
One of our biggest sellers this year for Christmas gifts - our licensed William Morris oven gloves ✨ Practical and stylish, every home needs a set, hanging some Morris floral magic over the cooker 🎄 Lots of designs are still in stock and with our free UK postage being tracked 24 Royal Mail, there’s still quite a few shopping days left until Christmas 📮 (I’ll even gift wrap it for free for you as an option at checkout, even though my own Christmas gifts are all hidden in the wardrobe still to wrap 😂) 🤶🏻🎅🏼
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#christmasgiftidea #ovenglove #floralhome #shopindie #williammorris
One pack of napkins folded four ways for Christmas tablescapes ✨ Which is your favourite? 🎄 We always love when a table set up comes with a little chocolate treat 🎅🏼 Beautiful Charlotte Rose is one of our favourites all year round, it can be dressed so many ways from Christmas to summer 🫶🏻
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#floralfabric #floraltable #christmasnapkin #christmastable #smallindiebusiness
There’s still plenty of shopping time before Christmas with our free UK postage with Royal Mail tracked 24 📮 We’re also doing free gift wrap on our website as an option at checkout 🤶🏻 Take 15% off too until the 20th December so whether for a gift of Christmas hosting having beautiful florals on the table, use code; FESTIVE at checkout on our website 🎄
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#williammorris #giftguide2025 #shopsmallforchristmas #christmasgiftideas #floralprint
Oh Mallow Forest Green, we love you on our festive tablescapes 🎄
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#williammorris #wmorris #floraltable #preraphaelite #christmastablesetting
Obsessed with this tree with all the vintage ornaments on the tree this year ✨ They were all grandparents so very special 🎄 having a little coffee and cake whilst the lights twinkle is so lovely ✨ This is our William Morris Golden Lily tablecloth, beautiful year round 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #vintage #vintagechristmas #vintagechristmasornaments #floraltable
It’s a blue and white Christmas over here 🙋🏽♀️ We went to the beautiful Christmas event at @harewoodhouse by the wonderfully talented @interiorcurve and we’re so inspired to have a themed blue and white tree and we’re so glad we did! 🤶🏻 This is our William Morris Merton blue, isn’t it beautiful, and so lovely to be able to dress it in various ways throughout the year, it’s so versatile ✨
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#williammorris #blueandwhitedecor #floraltablescape #flowerarranging #floralchristmas
What design are you having on your Christmas table? 🎄 We’re debating a few - our new forest green colours, our strawberry thief red, or maybe a Christmas blue and white… ✨
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#williammorris #christmastable #christmastablesetting #strawberrythief #floral
Christmas tablescaping all month long ✨ are you feeling festive already? 🎄 This is our Brother Rabbit blue design, isn’t it gorgeous 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #christmastable #floraltablescape
BLACK FRIDAY ENDS TONIGHT! ✨ use code; BLACKFRIDAY at checkout on our website to take 20% off everything - go, go, go! 🎄 We also have free gift wrap available at checkout so we can send gifts directly to loved ones or back to you gift wrapped and ready to go, we’re in the festive spirit so will gift wrap whilst we sing along to some festive songs 🤶🏻🎄
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#blackfriday #williammorris #wmorris #morrisfabric #floralfabrics
A very floral Christmas🎄 Our William Morris Sweet Briar design looks so beautiful dressed up for Christmas! ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #sweetbriar #floralchristmas #christmastable
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