10th August 2015
Running a business can be hard work and a few years ago a friend asked if I would like to join her on a weekend away at a spa.
We were fortunate enough to see Ragdale Hall advertised and I completely fell in love with the place!

The essence of Ragdale Hall for me is summed up as soon as you arrive, as you drive up to the door the smiling staff take your bags from the car and whisk them away. It is like all your stress is left at the door, the bags are taken to your room and you are taken and seated in a lovely conservatory with a drink while you check in.
The first time I came to Ragdale I was taken on a tour of the hotel, which I would recommend.
I have stayed in many nice hotels but Ragdale is somewhere very different.
In all the beautifully appointed rooms not only was the decor lovely but they all had one thing in common, comfort! I was surprised to see people asleep, but Penny explained the Ragdale philosophy is to make yourself at home, and that is just how I feel when I return each time.

I have developed my own Ragdale routine! I still wake early so I have a good half an hour walking in the grounds. I would never usually walk alone anywhere but here at Ragdale with friendly staff around you do feel very safe.
I have noticed in the summer the hares are out early morning so I do like to watch them, they are so lovely and so fast!
If I am feeling as energetic as the hares I will go into the gym, which looks out onto the Leicestershire countryside.
Next is breakfast in bed, I know I have been up and dressed but it is still a treat to be served in your room

Then up and out for the day in the pools and thermal spa which is wonderful, my favourite is the candle pool, it is THE most relaxing place I have been, so much so if I am ever in a very stressful situation I close my eyes and try to be there!
I have no picture so click this link to see it http://www.ragdalehall.co.uk/facilities.php/Spa-Area-2/
Lunch at Ragdale is starter served to your table and then buffet style.
The food at Ragdale is fabulous and so much to choose from, after dessert hot drinks are served in the veranda bar and then you can settle your lunch before an afternoon of yet more rest and relaxation.

I have been to Ragdale at all times of year but if it is sunny I would recommmend a swim in the outdoor pool. I took our small William Morris bag with me to carry my costume, as there are changing rooms just at the side of the pool.
The range of treatments at Ragdale Hall are amazing and all carried out by really knowledgeable and pleasant staff.

This time I enjoyed a wonderful Clarins facial and tri active body polish and a pedicure, not only do you leave Ragdale Hall feeling better, you look better too!

Dinner starts with speciality breads and dips and then the choice of main course


This lovely creme brulee was the nicest I have had, the lavender shortbread biscuit was just wonderful.
The only downside to going to Ragdale Hall is leaving! but I return to work re-energised and relaxed and thinking of the next time!!

All our William Morris Bags packed and ready to leave https://www.laurasbeau.co.uk/products/bags/
Posted in William Morris Bags by Laura
Happy International Women’s Day! 🌍 We thought we’d celebrate by bringing you the words from some amazing Pre Raphaelite women, who’s talents shouldn’t have been so overlooked at the time (but luckily now are being celebrated with their contributions to the arts!) be sure to read into their stories if you have a minute today, they’re all so interesting ✨ As a business run by women, it’s always a day to celebrate 💜
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#internationalwomensday #iwd2026 #womensupportingwomen #preraphaelites #preraphaelitesisterhood
Gorgeous Willow Bough blue on the table paired with layers of beautiful @burleighpottery plates 🤍 Always a stunning design to have on the table, did you know it was first produced in 1887, his daughter May Morris wrote of the 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.” We love the behind the design info, painting a beautiful picture of how he was so inspired by nature 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #burleighpottery #uksmallbusiness #blueandwhitedecor
Have you seen our range of table runners? ✨ This gorgeous Golden Lily design adds some Morris floral loveliness to the table, pair with matching napkins and placemats for layer upon layer of floral magic ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #preraphaelites #floraltablerunner #ukdesigner
Some new fabric bundles are now uploaded on our Etsy! ✨ We’ll post the link to our stories to them but some, like in the picture are almost fat quarters, perfect for quilting and crafting, and some are proper scrap bundles full of various sizes and designs, wonderful for crafting- we always wonder what everyone will create from them 🪡 They get rave reviews on our Etsy with crafters and quilters loving them for smaller projects 🥰
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#williammorrisfabric #williammorris #quiltingfabric #craftingfabric #sewingfabric
We’re so ready to see everyone’s beautiful Easter tablescapes! 🐣 our top necessities for an Easter table are multiple eggs and gorgeous flowers- the best combo! This William Morris Brother Rabbit tablecloth is the perfect addition to Easter with all those rabbits all over it! 🐰
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#williammorris #wmorris #preraphaelites #easter #eastertablescape
Beauty is always found in the details, our kitchen needs lots of different florals to bring colour and fun to the kitchen - this is our William Morris licensed design Willow Bough in Green, one of our favourite tea towels ✨ Do you have a favourite Morris design tea towel in your kitchen? 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #wmorris #preraphaelites #willowbough
Have you seen our range of exclusive designs? 🥰 From our exclusive French archive dating back to the late 1800s- early 1900s we’ve faithfully restored them and recoloured them to digitally print them ✨ All perfect for quilting and crafting, they’re such gorgeous designs, in blues and greens (this isn’t the full collection but head to our website to see them all!) 🤍
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#quiltingcotton #craftingfabric #ukfabric #ukfabricshop #quiltingfabric
William Morris designs bring nature indoors with all the florals, birds and botanicals, so we brought some of our garden inside with some beautiful snowdrops on the table - anyone else excited about the garden waking up for spring? 🌱☀️
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#gardenflorals #gardensofengland #williammorris #wmorris #preraphaelites
What makes our William Morris oven gloves special? Well….
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#williammorris #wmorris #ovenglove #smallbusiness #floralkitchen
Happy Pancake Day! 🥞 With the sun finally shining here in Yorkshire we had to bring some of it inside with some flowers from the garden- gorgeous snowdrops down the table ☀️ This tablecloth is the beautiful William Morris Trellis, our licensed William Morris design and always a favourite of ours 🫶🏻 Is anyone else starting on the Easter eggs in February? It’s not just us right… 😉
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#williammorris #gardenflowers #snowdropseason #burleighpottery #pancakeday
Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend filled with love 🤍 Our Mallow Forest Green licensed William Morris design looked gorgeous on the table this weekend 🌱
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#williammorris #wmorris #tablescapestyling #floraltable #preraphaelites
We thought we’d do a little spotlight onto all our designs the next few weeks to give more story behind them as they’re all so historic being licensed William Morris designs ✨ First designed in 1874, this is Lily, a beautiful design that incorporates the willow background with lilies and wild flowers 🫶🏻 The design must have been well loved by Morris himself- it was the wallpaper he used to decorate his bedroom at the gorgeous @kelmscottmanor - his home in Lechlade 🤍 Have you ever seen Morris’ Lily design? It’s one of our favourites 🤍
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#williammorris #wmorris #lily #floraltable #britishdesign
Dressed for all seasons, we love that if you scroll down our page you can see how you can make timeless designs like this Merton William Morris licensed design beautifully dressed up all year round ✨ This would look beautiful for Valentine’s Day but scroll our page to see it dressed for Christmas- buy your favourite design and re-invent it year round 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #wmorris #valentines #valentinestablescape
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