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12th May 2020
Born on this day in 1882, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (born Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti) a British poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He’s perhaps remained best known, alongside his art, for co-founding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood along with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was one of the most influential movements of it’s day and remains not only as an influence in art today but also, as a period in history that remains to describe a whole group of artists united by a set of ideas and a great love of art.
The Brotherhood was founded in 1848 and in it’s second generation, included well known figures on this blog; William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Rossetti was a huge influence for both and was a main reason for their joining the Brotherhood.
He originally wanted to be a poet and went to King’s College School in London, but also had a talent and passion for painting. Hi sister Christina Rossetti did go on to be a poet; you’ll know her from a few of her works I assume, but particularly, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” (It was later set to music into our famous Christmas carol.) Back to Dante, he went on to study at Henry Sass’ Drawing Academy from 1841 – 1845. Then the Antique School of the Royal Academy. He then went on to study under Ford Madox Brown; they had a close lifelong friendship.
To explain the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, we can go ahead and let William Michael Rossetti, Dante’s brother do that for us. He summarised four declarations in an early doctrine as a statement of intent.
One random fact we love about Rossetti that could only (or should we say, should only) be a part of the Victorian era was his eccentric menagerie. He had kangaroos, wallabies, armadillos, a raccoon and larger animals such as a zebu. He even is known to have discussed the potential of having an African elephant with Charles Jamrach. Jamrach was a leading dealer in wildlife, birds and shells in 19th century London. He’s also a fascinating read if you have time. All of this, in a garden in Chelsea!
His wombat is something that’s been well recorded about Rossetti, seemingly because of his affection for it. In writing to his brother he described it as, “a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness.” He named it “Top” after Morris who had the nickname, “Topsy.” Rather horribly, Top didn’t live long in England and died November 1869, after which, Rossetti had him stuffed and he was displayed in the entrance to the house. We mention the poor animal’s death because Rossetti’s self portrait mourning Top is a hugely famous piece of Rossetti’s work.
In 1860, he married Elizabeth Siddal (Lizzie) who was a Pre-Raphaelite model and one of his favourite muses. He even banned any other artists from using her as their model. She passed away in 1862 from an overdose of laudanum and afterwards, Rossetti increasingly spiralled into depression. Rossetti is well known for having a long lasting affair with Jane Morris – William Morris’s wife. This obviously caused great pain to Morris.
He held great influence within the artistic circles of the time. He remains a great influence amongst both artists and writers today. He was pioneering in his ideals, there’s just too much about him to fit into one blog! There was no shortage of eccentricities in his life and we encourage you to read more into his life and menagerie; it always really captures our imagination to think of the Victorian menageries, does it you?
Posted in News by Laura
Beautiful floral magic by William Morris, why do you think his designs are so timeless? 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #heavyweight #heavyweightfabric #upholsteryfabric #teatowels #floraldesign
Gorgeous William Morris Golden Lily, it always brightens up the dining room when it’s on the table ☀️ Which is your favourite Morris design for on your table? 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morrisfabric #morrisfabric #fabric #goldenlily #tablecloths #smallbuisness #independantbusiness #womanownedsmallbusiness
Our French floral designs are stunning, we’ve got a French archive which dates to the late 1800s- early 1900s which is jam packed full of beautiful designs that are lovingly kept in the archive 🫶🏻 We wanted to recolour a few into this gorgeous sage green colour, mainly because, in honestly, it’s my wedding colours and I wanted to have them on my wedding table - perks of the job! 👰🏽 So these are our designs Dot, Jean and Hearts & Kisses, three of our top favourites out the archive 🌿 We love seeing them restored back to life, the colours vibrant once more, we can just imagine them in the French countryside as they once maybe were, now we produce them as fat quarters which all tone together beautifully for quilting projects - we’d love to see what you make with them, don’t forget to tag us! 🫶🏻
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Cutting gorgeous William Morris Lily today, did you know we sell all our fabrics by the half meter? So projects big or small, we’ve got you covered! 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #preraphaelite #floraldesign #lily #floralfabric #upholsteryfabric #curtainfabric
POV: you’ve always got some sort of fresh flowers and a sweet treat on the table 🫶🏻
design on the table today is our beautiful William Morris Brother Rabbit Red 🐰
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Back in stock 🌿 Our Strawberry Thief blue oven gloves (and placemats too!) 🍓 a stunning addition to every kitchen 🫶🏻
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Bringing timeless elegance to the kitchen with our William Morris Strawberry Thief red oven glove and matching tea towel 🍓🕊️ The perfect blend of beauty and function—who said everyday essentials can’t be art? 🫶🏻
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#WilliamMorris #StrawberryThief #KitchenStyle #HeritagePrint #BritishDesign #CottagecoreKitchen #KitchenInspo #TimelessDesign #TextileArt #HomeDetails #MorrisAndCo #FloralPrint #OvenGloveStyle #TeaTowelLove #PatternedKitchen
🎉 GIVEAWAY TIME! 🎉
Win 2 meters of the stunning William Morris “Daisy” fabric – perfect for your next sewing or home décor project! 🌼✨
To enter:
1️⃣ Like this post
2️⃣ Follow us
3️⃣ Tag a friend who loves fabric as much as you do!
📅 Winner announced 1st July
Good luck! 💛🌼
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50% off Daisy heavyweight and cotton fabric?! 🌼 Oopsy Daisy we printed too much, so there’s now 50% off this incredibly beautiful William Morris design- what are you waiting for! 🫶🏻 This was the first design William Morris ever produced so it remains an incredibly special one, and such a timeless design, it’s perfect for quilting and crafting, the heavyweight is brilliant for light upholstery and curtain making! 🌿 Heavyweight is now £4 for half a meter and cotton is £3.50 for half a meter 🤯
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✨ Timeless beauty for your kitchen ✨
Our Pimpernel Green tea towel and oven glove bring the iconic elegance of William Morris into your everyday. Perfect for adding a touch of Arts & Crafts charm to your home 🌿
Available now in our shop!
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#WilliamMorris #ArtsAndCraftsMovement #PimpernelGreen #KitchenStyle #HeritageDesign #TimelessInteriors #FloralTextiles #HomeStyle #CountryKitchen #CottagecoreAesthetic #EcoHomeDecor #WilliamMorrisTextiles #BritishDesign #ArtisanKitchen #SustainableStyle
If you had to guess our favourite colour combo? 🫶🏻 Beautiful Brother Rabbits on the table today along with some stunning blue and white blooms 🤍
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#blueandwhiteforever #blueandwhitedecor #blueandwhitehome #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #brotherrabbit #preraphaelite #artsandcraftsmovement
What have you made with bias binding? 🌿 Perfect for crafting, we’ve got some amazing sales on our 50m bias binding rolls in Red Strawberry Thief, Lily and Trellis have 80% off, a 50m roll for £25- what would you make? 🪡🧵
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Which is your fave; Strawberry Thief red or blue? 🫶🏻
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A gorgeous Strawberry Thief tablescape - because why not make everyday things just that little bit prettier? 🥰 Is Strawberry Thief blue or red your fave? 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #uksmallbusiness #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #strawberrythief #strawberrythiefprint #preraphaelite
These gorgeous flowers steal the show in our easy little Saturday tablescape 🫶🏻 Lily is one of our favourite William Morris designs and we were so happy to be able to digitally print it now, of course it’s still printed here in the UK 🇬🇧
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#cottagecore #flowers #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #aldifinds #lily #aldiflowers
Beautiful blooms wrapped in timeless William Morris beauty 🌸✨
This William Morris floral Mallow Wine is so gorgeous and one of our faves year round 🫶🏻
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#WilliamMorris #FloralDesign #MallowWine #VintageStyle #BotanicalBeauty #ClassicCharm #TextileArt #TimelessDesign #PatternLovers #NatureInspired #RomanticDetails #FloralFabric #EnglishHeritage #ElegantAesthetic
Totally obsessed with these dreamy William Morris florals 🌸🪡
Perfect for sewing projects, cushions, curtains – you name it. Classic prints that never go out of style!
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#WilliamMorrisFabric #FloralVibes #SewingProjects #FabricAddict #VintageFlorals #HomeStyle #CraftyCorner #InteriorInspo #CottagecoreVibes #PrettyPatterns #FabricStashGoals
Every Laura’s Beau team member has a William Morris napkin on hand at all time; even on the beach apparently 😂 Dreaming of beach days in Cornwall a few weeks ago ⛱️
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#cornwall #cornwallbeaches #cornwalluk #icecream #napkin #strawberrythief #williammorris
A little William Morris floral magic hanging over the cooker today 🫶🏻 can you name this Morris design? 🤎
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #ovenglove #teatowel #teatoweldesign #teatowelsofinstagram #cottagecoreaesthetic #cottagecore #compton
Spending Friday eve arranging some fresh blooms round the house ready for bank holiday weekend 🥰 Remember our 15% discount is still running on our website, use code: SPRINGBLOOMS 🫶🏻
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#bankholidayweekend #williammorris #pimpernel #freshflowers #iris #flowerarranging #cutflowers
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