FAQs

Your Cart

Close
Paper Plane Your order qualifies for free standard delivery
Subtotal £0.00
Delivery £0.00
Order Total £0
Checkout Securely

Gaudi & William Morris

10th November 2019

This month, we took a trip to Barcelona. It’s impossible to walk around the city and not see the mark of Antoni Gaudí throughout. The buildings are so stand out, you can’t help but stop and admire them – caught up amongst a throng of locals and tourist alike, you might be a nuisance but, you wouldn’t be to blame.

If you get the opportunity to go to Barcelona, then there’s lots to see of Gaudi’s work. We took a tour of the Casa Batlló, Park Güell and more to see Gaudi’s work. We wanted to show you some photos of our trip and tell you more about Gaudi. We couldn’t help but research further into Gaudi when we got home too, including, a collection to our very own inspiration – William Morris.

A little background, Gaudi was a Catalan architect, born on the 25th June 1852. His distinct style is incredible individual, unable to be replicated and completely, one of a kind. Most, though not all, are located within Barcelona, including, perhaps the most famous worldwide, the Sagrada Familia.

His influence? Nature and religion. The creations he made, you can tell he thought of absolutely everything. The Sagrada Familia for example, he knew he would never be able to see the completion of the project. He therefore laid out a plan to be followed by his predecessors. It is clear that in his works, every detail is considered, the tour took us through everything – from the way the window handles were easy for the user to open to the considered ceramics – in Casa Batlló the tiles in the centre go from dark to light blue as they go up. That’s due to the light hitting them during the day to give depth.

He was influenced by neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, meaning he was part of the Modernista movement. Today, he remains one of the most famous architects in the world, between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works became World Heritage Sites.

The Sagarda Familia, in itself, is one of the most beautiful places we’ve been. If you can, please try time your visit for a sunrise or set – the sun throws intense light through stained glass and it’s a magical experience. At one side of the church the Nativity scene is shown and the windows are blues and greens, at the other, the Passions of Christ is depicted, the windows at this side are oranges and yellows. It’s a unique experience. The architecture within too, is spectacular – the pillars show his nature influence as they’re trees – the structural support is important but also, they make the church absolutely unique.

And Morris? Where does he come into it? Well, Morris was an advocate of ornamentation as shown by his work with stained glass and other forms of art. He showed an interest and passion for a wealth of different forms of art throughout his career. Gaudi too, showed a passion for multiple art forms and implemented these into his work. Ceramics, plastering, sculpting and more are all featured within his home. Gaudi was inspired by the oriental arts from India, Persia and Japan – through the study of architectural theoreticians such as William Morris, John Ruskin and Walter Pater. These are known by experts to be seen in his works such as Capricho, the Güell Palace, the Güell Pavilions and the Casa Vicens.

A remarkable man with an incredible talent, it’s impossible to pack the man and his work into one blog. Perhaps we will revisit his work in another blog – we definitely have enough images of ceramics and details within the architecture to fill them! Have you ever visited works of Gaudi? Which ones were your favourites? We’d love to know. 

Related Articles

Post Title

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

January 26th - 27th This was the weekend of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and I was hoping that the thrushes that usually come to...

Post Title

Afternoon Tea Week!

This week it was Afternoon Tea Week, and we have celebrated it a few times- it would be rude not to!       Infact,...

Post Title

William Morris Fabric Crafts

We always love seeing what our customers are creating from our fabrics - since we sell fabric by the half metre, from big to small...

🌷 William Morris month day 30 🌷 As we come near the end of Morris month, we’re celebrating with a fabric stack, full of beautiful licensed designs, which is your fave? 🌿 “Remember that a pattern is either right or wrong. It cannot be forgiven for blundering, as a picture may be which has otherwise great qualities in it. It is with a pattern as with a fortress, it is no stronger than its weakest point.”- William Morris 🤍 
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #floralfabric #floralfabrics #fabricstack #fabricstash #fabricstore #onlinefabrics #ukfabricsonline #independantbusiness
🐭 William Morris month day 29 🐭 We’ve been loving William Morris month to celebrate Morris’s birthday month, spreading his floral magic by posting everyday - have you discovered a new favourite design of his this month? 🌿 We absolutely love these little mice and the banner by @mini_and_bob - aren’t they so lovely! 🐭🤍
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabriccrafts #craftersgonnacraft #crafting #williammorrisprint #strawberrythief #willowbough #shopsmall #independantbusiness #ukbusiness
🌷William Morris Month Day 28🌷 Happy Easter weekend everyone! 🐥 We hope everyone has a lovely long bank holiday 🌿 We’re already planning some beautiful William Morris tablescapes, nothing too complex, all you need is some Morris florals, some flowers and lots of chocolate! 🐰
•
•
•
#wiliammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #eastertable #eastertable #easterstyling #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #floraltable #preraphaelitebrotherhood #victoriandesign
🌷 William Morris Month Day 26 🌷 Absolutely loving a spring time floral on the table right now, especially when paired with an Easter craft or two! 🤍
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #morris #fabric #fabriccraft #fabrics #crafting #independantbusiness #indiebusiness #preraphaelite
🌿 William Morris Month Day 25 🌿 Florals on florals on florals; all of the William Morris florals just look so beautiful together and, as Morris said himself, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” 🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #morrisdesign #quoteoftheday #florals #modernflorals #teatowels #preraphaelitebrotherhood #preraphaelites
🐥 William Morris Month Day 23 🐥 Loving the sunshine this week for springtime 🌿 We absolutely love Willow Bough on the table in the sunshine paired with spring blooms 🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #willowbough #easter #eastertables
🌷 William Morris Month Day 22🌷 A themed table is always our favourite, we’ve been loving setting the table lately with an Easter theme- especially when it means we can eat the eggs after! 🐣✨ 
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #eastertables #eastereggs #eastertablescape #springflorals
🌿 William Morris Day 20 🌿 William Morris fact of the day; did you know he founded the Kelmscott Press? 🖋️ He wrote of the venture – “Here is a new craft to conquer and to perfect.” Printing began at the press in Spring 1891 🪴 He designed multiple fonts including “Golden” Roman typeface and “Troy” Gothic type along with “Chaucer” and he worked to create beautiful books in regards to their designs which took into account their type, image and decorative elements – you can see beautiful examples of what he achieved today if you do a quick search on the Kelmscott Press- it’s well worth a Google! 🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #kelmscottpress #morris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #victorian #victorianart #victorians
🌷 William Morris Month Day 19🌷 Happy first day of spring everyone! 🪴 We celebrated in our favourite way; coffee and cake of course! 🍰 Now we love florals all year round of course, but especially love adding in even more this time of year to reflect the blooms in the garden 🌷 What’s your favourite Morris design this time of year? 🌿
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrismonth #spring #spring2024 #preraphaelite #florals #floralfabric #springflorals #springflowers
📝 William Morris Month Day 18 📝 Did you know that as well as being an incredible designer, William Morris was also a brilliant writer and poet; have you read any of his writing? What’s your favourite quote? 🌷🌿
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morris #strawberrythief #quotesaboutlife #quotestoliveby #quotes
☀️ William Morris Month Day 17 ☀️ The sunshine today has made us feel so excited for spring, it’s almost officially here! 🪴 This William Morris bunting is the dreamiest backdrop to all the spring summer days in the garden, it’s by @ellejoycreations - isn’t it fabulous!🌷
•
•
•
#spring #williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabricstash #smallbusinessuk #printedintheuk #etsyshop
🐰 William Morris Month Day 16 🐰 A Sunday spent Easter decorating, these cute little bunnies were a craft a few years back and they are always a firm favourite to bring out this time of year to hang on our Easter tree 🐥 Have you started decorating or eating eggs yet? 🐣
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisprint #easter #easterdecor #eastercrafts #eastercrafting #fabriccraft #greatfabricdestashuk
🍓 William Morris Month Day 15 🍓 Absolutely can’t wait for the summer months to get our Strawberry Thief picnic basket and blanket back out- if you missed this craft we have a DIY on our website blog, along with a lot of other craft ideas and how-to blogs ☺️
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #picnicbasket #craftideas #craftidea #fabriccraft #fabricstore #fabricshoppingonline #fabricstash
🍓 William Morris Month Day 14 🍓 Strawberry Thief was inspired by William Morris’s watching the thrushes under the strawberry nets at the stunning @kelmscottmanor 🌿 May Morris conjured up this scene when speaking of the design, “You can imagine my Father going out in the early morning and watching the rascally thrushes at work on the fruit beds and telling the fanned who growls ‘I’d like to wring their necks!’ that no bird in the garden must be touched. There were certainly more birds than strawberries in spite of attempts at protection. And the walls of the little dining-room are hung with this note of the June garden and the little lords of it.” 🍓 What a lovely insight into the Morris family life! 🥰
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #strawberrythief #floraldesign #maymorris