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27th August 2018
Our collection of licensed William Morris designs just keeps growing; we’ve now got quite the range! With various colour palates and designs, we wanted to do a roundup on just a few of our designs and the history and stories behind them – this blog is part one of two! With each design, there’s always being a story of it’s design; the influences and inspiration. We do multiple products in each design as well as selling the fabric by the half metre in a variety of fabrics (cotton, cotton drill, heavyweight and pvc) for anyone crafty, there’s so much you can create from our William Morris fabric; from small projects to large.
Designed by 1864 by William Morris, Trellis was inspired by the rose trellis found in the garden of his home, Red House. Most of his designs are inspired by nature and Trellis is no different. The first wallpaper he ever created, the birds within the design were drawn by his friend and colleague, Philip Webb.
Along with our Trellis products, we also have a few that also showcase a picture of Morris along with his most famous quote, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
We produce Strawberry Thief, designed in 1883 in two colour ways; red and blue – we can never quite decide on our favourite!
There’s a lovely story behind this design; once again inspired by nature, it was as Morris sat on the privy that he watched the birds steal the strawberries in his garden from under the fruit nets at his home, Kelmscott Manor. May Morris described this wonderfully when she said, “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.” We love the description and more of an insight into their daily life at Kelmscott Manor, Morris’ paradise.
Strawberry Thief was also a triumph for Morris as it was the first design he perfected using his pioneering indigo-dye technique of printing at Merton Abbey.
First designed in 1887, we have Willow Bough in both blue and white and green and cream. This is a stunning patterns with soft willow leaves throughout, it really feels bright and light, bringing nature indoors.
May Morris also spoke about this design, “we were walking one day by our little stream that runs into the Thames and my father pointed out the detail and soon after the paper was done.” Block printed when it was adapted for fabric in Merton Abbey, May Morris even used Willow Bough as her wallpaper design.
Pimpernel is a wonderful design, an incredibly famous one for Morris. Designed in 1876, though there are pimpernel flowers within the design, they’re smaller than the large poppies that dominate the design. Today it remains as the wallpaper adorning the walls of the Billiard Room in Wightwick Manor. Again with a naturalistic influence, the repeating pattern is typical of his work. In two colour ways; Pimpernel Cream and Pimpernel Green.
There’s too many designs to fit into one blog! Make sure to read part two here to learn more about our William Morris designs. It’s incredible to think how long ago his designs were created and the pioneering methods of print he used to create them. Nowadays, his designs are still incredibly popular and influential; interior designers still use his name and designs as examples and his designs are everywhere; even on the runways such as Marc Jacobs. We still print all our fabric in the United Kingdom and all our products are licensed William Morris designs; printed both size and colour ways to our own specification to best suit our designs.
Posted in News by Laura
🐥 William Morris month day 31 🐥 Happy Easter everyone! 🐰 Hope everyone’s having a lovely long weekend, we got beautiful Willow Bough out for a themed tablescape - not forgetting the Lidnt bunny’s and eggs! 🌿🐰
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🌷 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 🤍
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🐭 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! 🐭🤍
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🌷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! 🐰
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🧵 William Morris month day 26 🧵 Calling all quilters; have you ever used our cotton fabric to quilt with? We’ve used them a lot and quilters and quilting groups find them a great fabric weight to quilt with to produce beautiful Morris quilts like this one by @ellejoycreations 🌿🧵🪡 If you’d like a sample of any of our designs we send them free within the UK 💌
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisquilt #quilting #quilter #quiltystitchybookprojects #quiltersgonnaquilt #quiltlife #cottonfabric #quiltingfabric #fabricbythemetre
🌷 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! 🤍
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#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” 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #morrisdesign #quoteoftheday #florals #modernflorals #teatowels #preraphaelitebrotherhood #preraphaelites
🍰 William Morris Month Day 24 🍰 Happy Birthday William Morris! ✨ Born on this day in 1834, he created so many timeless designs which are still popular today 🌿 He was also an incredible poet, writer, and social activist, also creating the Kelmscott Press and he was a key figure in reviving traditional British art and textile methods of production, even opening a print works- Merton Abbey 🪴 There’s far too much to fit in an Instagram caption but his life is well worth a research if you have time! 🌷 He famously said, “I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few” - what’s your favourite quote to celebrate Morris today? 🖋️
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🐥 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 🌷
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#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! 🐣✨
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #eastertables #eastereggs #eastertablescape #springflorals
🌷 William Morris Month Day 21 🌷 As a small business ourselves we absolutely love celebrating other small businesses, today for Morris month we’re loving @ellejoycreations beautiful products, go check out her page to see them all!🌷🌿
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#williammmorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #smallbusiness #uksmallbusiness #preraphaelite
🌿 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! 🌷
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#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? 🌿
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#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? 🌷🌿
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#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!🌷
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#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? 🐣
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#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 ☺️
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#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! 🥰
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #strawberrythief #floraldesign #maymorris
🌿 William Morris Month Day 13 🌿 A little Bertie is interested in looking at our fresh florals on the table today, the theme of flower arranging class this week was “childhood memories” so of course Barbie was our theme! 🐕🦺🩷 Featuring our beautiful William Morris Strawberry Thief on the table today 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisdress #williammorrismonth #barbieflowers #preraphaelite #flowerarrangement #florals #floraldesign #floralarrangements #labrador #lablove #barbie #barbiegram
🌿 William Morris Month Day 12 🌿 Aren’t these little bunnies so cute! 🐰 Perfect for Easter trees or to use ontop of a napkin for an Easter table set up, using our Strawberry Thief William Morris fabric, they’re by @_x_edita_x_ and available on their Etsy ⭐️ If you’d like to be featured during our Morris Month please let us know, we’d love it! ✨
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