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8th October 2017
Working on and launching a new design is always an exciting time- getting the colouring and detailing just right is something we here at Laura’s Beau take very seriously! We’re excited to finally launch our new licensed William Morris design that we’ve been teasing over on our social channels; Trellis.
Whilst on numerous trips to Standen, Trellis was always a design that caught our eye. This can still been seen today in Standen.
Trellis, first designed for wallpaper in 1864, was the first wallpaper designed by William Morris. During his career, he designed 41 wallpapers and five ceiling papers.
Remember that the papers were all hand-printed in distemper colours from pear wood blocks. Why pear wood? Basically, it’s made up of a fine grain which is absorbent and whilst it was easy to carve, it was also durable. He turned to Messrs. Jeffrey of Essex Road, Islington, to help him with the process. The printing process was hand done and therefore it was an arduous task – each colour within the print required it’s own separate block. Take a look at Morris’ prints and you’ll see how his intricate use of colour could cause an issue here! In some designs, there are over 40 colours which makes the task labour intensive and expensive. He initially produced three wallpapers in 1864, Trellis, Daisy and Fruit (also known as Pomegranate.) These must have been an expensive initial investment as each design needed 12 blocks – perhaps why he shied away from original wallpaper designs with fine details of nature until the early 1870s where we can trace he began with these designs again – perhaps we can chalk this up to influence or perhaps the fact the Firm at this point had more financial stability and could afford to print such detailed designs in this way.
Put the three patterns side by side and you’ll notice some similarities – they’re almost simple in design compared to some of his more elaborate later patterns, though by no means less beautiful and they show off his raw talent from the beginning. May Morris spoke about these first designs by her father that it was as though, “he had been at the trick for years.” All three have naturalistic elements, flowers, leaves, the birds in Trellis and the fruit in Fruits. From the beginning and throughout his later patterns, we can see he used the same influences, always so influenced by his surroundings and by nature in particular, he created so many designs which have endured the test of time and remained popular by using the same sources of inspiration, Helen Dore notes this in her book titled William Morris, “from the beginning it is significant that his genius lay in creating so many different designs from a limited repertoire of relatively few elements. Most importantly, these early papers illustrate Morris’s ability to visualise how a repeat pattern would work in the whole – a tremendous gift.” (Page 70) May Morris spoke of her fathers talent, “in designing for a pattern meant to be repeated, you never can tell the effect absolutely till it is seen in mass.”
Though Trellis was designed first, it wasn’t produced first as it was delayed as Webb designed the birds, something he often did throughout their careers together. Dore writes beautifully about the design, “The idea or the trellis scheme, which provides a uniform rectangular grid contrasting with the continuous motif of the trailing, meandering rose stem, was probably inspired by the rose trellises at the Red House; Berwick’s Birds was always a major source of design inspiration for Webb.” (Page 71)
Webb kept Trellis as one of his personal favourite designs which was proved by him using it extensively at Standen, where you can still see it today in both the lobby through to the conservatory and in the Morning Room corridor. The house has a huge connection to the fabric and our friends there love our licensed Trellis design! May Morris also remembered Trellis being used in her bedroom at Queen Square – in fact a little anecdote she shared once was that she used to lie away frightened by one of the birds “because he was throughout to be wicked and very alive.”
We love our new design and hope you all do too! Which is your favourite Trellis product? Check them all out here!
Posted in News by Laura
We’re back open ☺️ sorry we’ve been so quiet on here, we’ve had a few weeks off for holidays 🫶🏻 We’re back now and ready to send out your floral magic kitchenware and fabrics ✨
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#printedintheuk #uksmallbusiness #fabricstore #fabrics #valentines
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
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