12th May 2017
If you follow us over on our social media, you’ll have seen that we recently took a trip to Venice. Having never been before, we weren’t sure what to expect, and as the title of the post suggests- it was way better than we could have ever imagined. If you’ve never been, it’s a must visit destination- around every corner you’ll be getting your camera out your bag and snapping away as it really is the prettiest city ever, the slow decay of the buildings adds to the charm and suddenly you find beauty even where a building elsewhere would look like it needs a good old paint!
Since we visited in early May, we weren’t sure of the weather, and were pleasantly surprised to find it super hot- though towards to evening and especially in the shade, it cooled off, so having a jacket on hand was important. We therefore found a pretty Brother Rabbit William Morris long handled tote bag was a necessity to carry bits and bobs we’d need throughout the day, complimenting our outfits as well as carrying a camera and various bits of shopping we found ourselves doing throughout the day!
The Bridge of Sighs, as photographed below, was built in 1600 by Antonio Contino (his uncle Antonio de Ponte had actually designed the Rialto Bridge.) The enclosed bridge is built from white limestone and if you walk across it (as we did), you’ll be able to see the stone bars across the windows, linking the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the Doge’s Palace interrogation rooms, crossing the Rio di Palazzo. The view from the bridge, looks back over Venice, and was called as such because of Lord Byron given from the Italian, “Ponte dei sospiri” and shows how the view was the last one prisoners would see before being taken to their cells after their interrogation- giving a sigh at their last glance at beautiful Venice.
Below is the view from the Bridge looking out. Interestingly, the famous Casanova himself was one of the only people to escape this prison. His escape is a fun read if you have time to Google it, he used a sharpened an iron bar and through one way or another a few of them escaped via carving holes in the ceilings, he left behind a note, “117th Psalm (Vulgate): “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord”.”
Italy is famous for it’s coffee, so stopping for multiple coffees throughout the day was a necessity! Perhaps there was also a pastry or two involved…
Whilst on a walking tour of the city, the tour guide drew our attention to the wells. There’s many throughout the city and once you’re told to look out for them you’ll notice even more. The wells are in many a courtyard as there was a shortage of drinking water in the city (ironic for a city build on water..) and so there was filtration systems built to catch the rainwater for these communal wells placed in the ‘fields’- what we’d call a square but in days gone by were grassy areas. The rich had their own well, and walking down a narrow street we noticed a private well- also notice how beautiful this staircase is!
These colourful houses caught our attention, the colours in this photo are beautiful!
This photo was taken in the Doge’s Palace- the whole palace is incredibly decorated, from the staircases to the ceilings- the Venetians apparently didn’t do understated! If you have time on your trip in Venice, it’s well worth a visit! Unfortunately on this trip, due to the long wait time, we didn’t get to go to the St Mark’s Basilica- an incredibly stunning cathedral which was built as a resting place for St Mark after they recovered his body from Egypt. On our next trip (we loved it so much we have to go back!) this will definitely be the top of our must do list.
Typical of Italy, the food was amazing, and there was much of it! With bars, restaurants and cafes around every corner there was no shortage of good food- it was so fun to sit and watch them bringing in the beer and bottles into the city via boat- a much more complex operation than our motorways as we watched the delivery men pulling beer barrels off a boat!
Here are a few other photos we wanted to share with you, some are from a gondola ride! What did you love about the city if you’ve visited, if you’ve not, would you love to go? Let us know!
Posted in William Morris by Laura
Always one of our favourites, our Willow Bough blue tablecloth brings the beauty of William Morris into the home, remember our whole website is 15% off this week! Use code: springblooms 🌿
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Making everything in life its own little event, even a coffee and a cake 🫶🏻 Featuring our Strawberry Thief red William Morris design napkin and placemat 🍓
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #lifesmoments #atthekitchentable #smallmomentsofcalm
The easiest napkin fold is so effective 🫶🏻 Next to a dinner plate or placed on the plate with a cake fork, it’s perfect for easy yet chic presentation 🍴
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#napkinfold #napkinfolding #tablescape #atthekitchentable #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelite #floraldesign
Our William Morris Lily design is back in stock! 🤍 A gorgeous design especially this spring/ summer it’s a timeless design we adore year after year 🌿
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Is it just us or does anyone else come across an old photo and get upset that the cake is now gone? 🍰
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Lay the table with us for Easter dinner 🐰 These rabbit napkin folds are so simple yet effective, will you give them a go this weekend? 🐣
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Us 🤝 simple napkin folding 🎀
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A really simple napkin fold for your Easter table! 🐣 We used a napkin ring but you could use ribbon or twine, whatever you’ve got! 🐰
Just fold the napkin into a triangle and roll up from the point until you can fold it in half to make the ears 🐇 You could put a little creme egg in there as an extra treat 🤎
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Hopping into Easter week with a fab 10% off our website, just use code: EASTER on our website 🐣
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Have you seen our new remnants and bundle section on our website? 🪡 Perfect for quilting, sewing and crafting, they’re all in varying sizes and we’ll keep it constantly updated 🧵
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Layering florals on florals this Spring 🪻🌷
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The start of the Easter tablescapes this weekend 🐣 We cant resist a little rabbit napkin, so easy and so effective we can post a reel on how to do the napkin fold! 🐰 This is our pvc fabric in William Morris Brother Rabbit red which is perfect for on the table as it simply wipes clean so isn’t an issue for any spills 🧼
We know that seasonal tablescapes whilst looking amazing can often seem really expensive on Instagram so we wanted to prove that with a simple napkin fold and a few little inexpensive decor bits it can be wonderfully seasonal yet affordable and used every year - the carrots are from @poundland and the cute little sheep are from @sainsburys 🐑
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A gorgeous spring day today spent in the garden, anyone else unable to spend a day without a pot of mini eggs nearby? 🐣 Our pvc fabric is perfect for garden tables, a simple wipe clean and it’s ready for outdoor meals - just make sure to not leave it outside in the rain! ☔️☀️ On the table today is our William Morris Compton pvc, a year- round fave of ours 🤎
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Spring has truly sprung this week and we’re looking forward to Easter 🐣 Our William Morris Daisy was looking gorgeous on the table with a little Easter treat 🐰
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One of the crafters among us couldn’t help but steal some of our new designs from work to create a gorgeous quilted bag from all our original designs to take to Chicago with them on holiday 🤍 For all of us back home in Yorkshire we’re a little jealous seeing all the holiday snaps of the bag round the city! ✨ All these designs are now available on our website 🥰
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It’s back in stock!! 🍓 Our cotton Strawberry Thief blue licensed William Morris design is now back in stock - and digitally printed 🌿 We hope you can tell how crisp the design is from this video, the details within the design are so clear in the digital print which is fabulous becuase there’s so many beautiful details within all Morris designs 🎨
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The colours of Compton 😍 did you know some of our designs are now digitally printed? 🤎 digital print gives top quality printing design with a really crisp finish that brings to life the whole design and its details, of course, we’re still printing in the UK 🇬🇧
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Pack an order with us of our new quilting fabrics 🌿 These are all our exclusive designs that are now available on our website, and each beautiful design has been faithfully resorted from our French archive, we wonder what they’ll be made into 🤍
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A tea towel hanging in the kitchen, bringing floral magic easily into the home 🌿 Can you believe William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887? It’s such a timeless design we love imagining how many people throughout the years have chosen to have it decorating their homes 🤍
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Use code: birthday for 20% off our entire website 🌿 Includes our fabulous fabric by the half metre, tablewear & kitchenware 🤍
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