30th December 2015
We are excited to announce the launch of our new range of products, in the licensed William Morris design Brother Rabbit. Designed by Morris in 1881, the design wasn’t registered until 1882. It was block printed on cotton by the indigo discharge method using indigo blue and white.
The inspiration behind the design lies with the childrens stories Morris used to read to his daughters Jenny and May. It was named after a character in Uncle Remus, His Songs and his Sayings by J.C. Harris. The book is centred around Uncle Remus, a fictional narrator of the African- American folktales adapted and compiled in seven Uncle Remus books. They are a collection of animal stories, songs and oral folklore collected from Southern United States African-Americans. Many are diadactic, with Uncle Remus as an elderly former slave who passes on folktales to children who are gathered around him. As you can see by the exerpt below, the stories are written in an eye dialect devised by the author to represent a Deep South Gullah dialect- so when you read it, in your head read it in that accent!
‘”Didn’t the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?” asked the little boy the next evening.
“He come mighty nigh it, honey, sho’s you born—Brer Fox did. One day atter Brer Rabbit fool ‘im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk en got ‘im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w’at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot ‘er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be. En he didn’t hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin’ down de road—lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity—dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit come prancin’ ‘long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz ‘stonished. De Tar Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.”
At the time, the stories were conveyed in a manner that were not seen as racist by the audience. By the mid 20th Century, the dialect and the ‘Old Uncle’ stereotype of the narrator were considered demeaning of the African-American people.
Br’er Rabbit (Brother Rabbit) is the main characters, a mischevious character who though likeable, is prone to trouble making, and who is often opposed by Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear. You may know these characters and stories better from the Walt Disney adaptation, “Song of the South” (1946) as Uncle Remus was portrayed by James Baskett.
Posted in Laura's Beau by Laura
Last week creating my beautiful bridal bouquet with my mum whilst wearing my little quilted jacket made from our Jean quilting design 🌿 We will have to show you all our wedding tables, we re-printed Jean in a sage green especially for the wedding (the small low key wedding escalated a little..) and created our own napkins for each guest, plus a tablecloth for the cake table! 👰🏽♀️ Having it all tied together with the same design was so special, especially as I’d named the design after my lovely Nanny Jean - who was absolutely always wearing green 🌿 Now I can wear my little jacket and always think of my wedding! 🤍 It’s a gorgeous quilting design and fabric, let us know if you’d like an in depth quilted jacket tutorial 🪡🧵
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#Wedding #bridalbouquet #bridalbouquets #brideflowers #weddingflowers #weddingfloristry #weddingflorists #weddingplanners #beautifulblooms #quiltedjacket #sewingpattern #quiltingfabric #quiltersgonnaquilt
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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#Frenchfloral #frenchdesign #originaldesign #ukprinted #independantbusiness #smallbusiness #wedding #weddingstyles #weddingnapkins #bridetobride #brideinspo #frenchflorals #fabricshop #quilting #quiltingfabrics #fabricstash #craft #fatquarters
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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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #designs #ukdesign #ukdesigner #britishdesign #britishdesigner #smallbuisness
Back in stock 🌿 Our Strawberry Thief blue oven gloves (and placemats too!) 🍓 a stunning addition to every kitchen 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #strawberrythief #preraphaelite #yorkshirefabricshop #fabricdesign #fabricstash
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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#WilliamMorrisFabric #FabricGiveaway #SewingCommunity #QuiltingLife #CraftAddict #TextileLovers #FabricStash #SewingInspiration #HomeDecorFabric #DaisyFabric #Sewcialists #giveaway #giveawaycontest #win #winner #competition #competitiontime
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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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #salefabric #discount #quiltingfabric #sewingfabric #upholsteryfabric #curtainfabric #smallbusiness
✨ 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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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #biasbinding #biasbindinguk #fabricsale #fabricsales
Which is your fave; Strawberry Thief red or blue? 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #preraphaelites #artsandcraftsmovement #strawberrythief #printedintheuk
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