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William Morris Designs

11th January 2021

Our collection of licensed William Morris designs are all beautiful and work year round to inject some colour into your home and bring some nature indoors. All of the Morris designs are inspired by nature; full of florals and leaves, they’re a stunning way to introduce that into your house.

We thought with January here, it’s a good time to redecorate and spruce up the house with the glitter of Christmas trimmings gone. So, let’s take you through a handful of our William Morris designs. Remember, you can peruse our entire collection here.

Strawberry Thief

Let’s start with one of the best known Morris designs with Strawberry Thief. We have this licensed design in both a red and a blue colour way so it will suit various colour schemes within the home. The design marked the start of his triumphs with the indigo dye technique which is what he at Merton Abbey. We’ve written many blogs on Merton Abbey, so you can take a read through those if you’re interested! It’s amazing how he took the works that had been printing textiles for years and from 1881 to 1888, housed the incredible Morris and his business, Morris & Co.

Strawberry Thief was inspired by Morris’ observations of nature at his own home, Kelmscott Manor. His daughter, May Morris, spoke about the design to tell us of the scene, “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.” Isn’t that a lovely insight into the life of Morris and his family!

 

Golden Lily

William Morris Golden Lily is an explosion of colour and floral design. Isn’t it just stunning! Each time we look at it, there’s different colours and flowers that stand out to us more. Golden Lily was designed in 1897 and remains such a stunning Morris design.

Willow Bough

Willow Bough is a beautiful naturalistic design, designed by Morris in 1887. It was first produced as a wallpaper design. May Morris, William’s daughter, had it on the walls in her bedroom. It was adapted for fabric in 1895 when it was block printed at Merton Abbey.

A common theme with Morris designs, it was inspired by a walk in the countryside. May wrote about 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.”

In Willow Bough, we have a blue colour option and a green. But which is your favourite?

Trellis

Trellis is a very well known Morris design because it’s known for being inspired by the rose trellis in the garden of Red House. Red House was his home in Bexleyheath, designed by Philip Webb and commissioned by Morris, Edward Burne-Jones described Red House as ‘the beautifullest place on earth’.

Trellis was the first wallpaper Morris designed (along with both Daisy and Fruit.) They were all produced using a hand-printing process of which each colour required it’s own block. This of course was intricate and expensive – so they were put on hold to be produced until the early 1870s. It was then that Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. had enough money to finance the designs.

With many Morris designs, friend and colleague Philip Webb designed some of the elements. This also includes the birds within the Trellis design.

Eyebright

Eyebright is another beautiful Morris design, first designed in 1883. Originally designed to be a lining fabric, it’s incredible to think such a beautiful print might have been hidden! Luckily, it wasn’t just hidden in the lining and now continues to be a beloved pattern of his.

We love the intricate design of this and, just like all his designs, this timeless design remains one we put on our own tables time and time again.

Our products are both printed and manufactured in the United Kingdom. These are licensed designs by William Morris, and are printed both size and colour-wise to our own specifications. This is because we want them to best suit our products. If you’re within the UK and would like a sample of any of our fabrics, please contact us and we’d be happy to send one to you.

Any questions? Let us know, message us!

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Gorgeous Mallow Forest Green in the sunshine this week ☀️ Our heavyweight fabric is so versatile with so many crafts, what will you make? 🧵
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Wrap an order with us for a custom bundle of some wedding table linens 🌿 These Mallow Forest Green napkins and a custom table runner are now on their way to a customer to adorn their wedding tables, we’re so pleased to be involved in the tables of a few weddings this year! 🤍 If you are looking for gorgeous timeless William Morris florals for your tables, get in touch we’d love to discuss it with you ✨ 
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It’s coming home! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 To celebrate, take 15% off our website all weekend with code: HOME at checkout ⚽️ Hurry it ends Tuesday 🌿
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Have you seen our forest green colourways of Mallow and Brother Rabbit? 🌿 We brought them out last year and were so happy that they’re ever so popular with everyone 💚 This week we’ve also got a 10% discount running on our website with code: floralsummer 🌅
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A moment for the greens! 💚 Can you name all these beautiful green William Morris designs? 🌿 All digitally printed here in the UK 🇬🇧 The good thing seeing them all together is you can see which work together for a sewing project or quilt, or layered together for your next tablescape! 🫧
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Did you know we do bundles of our fabric offcuts? 🌿 Perfect for sewer and quilters, they’re various sizes and designs and available on our Etsy and website - this is our latest “almost fat quarter” bundle that all are almost 50cm pieces, you could even make double sided cushions or anything! What would you create? 🪡🧵 (message us if you’d like a link to our bundles!🫧)
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When cutting fabric stacks, we always wonder what is being made from them, we often get messages about quilts being stitched together with various tonal colours, curtains ready to be part of daily life or dresses being sewn to be worn to the next big event, so if you ever make anything from our fabrics- whether it be a huge project or a tiny one made of our scrap bundles, do let us know what you make! 🪡🧵
Can you name the designs within the photo? All sold by the half meter, £18.50 per metre of cotton, £20.50 per metre of heavyweight cotton 🫶🏻
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Mid week tables require; a vase of gorgeous fresh flowers, as many sweet treats as you can get your hands on, and of course, a gorgeous tablecloth set- this Willow Bough blue is one of our all time favourite William Morris designs, it’s utterly timeless and so beautiful 🌿
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The table details;
Willow Bough blue napkins- £16.99
Willow Bough tablecloths- starting at £29.99 depending on size 
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A little update from us 🇬🇧
From 1st July, our product prices will be increasing due to continued rises in manufacturing and material costs.
We’ve worked hard to absorb these increases for as long as possible, but to continue providing the quality you expect from us, a small price adjustment is now necessary.
Every product we create is proudly printed and manufactured here in the UK, using high-quality materials and processes that ensure a finish we’re proud of. Our fabrics are all digitally printed to give a crisp finish.
If you’ve been thinking about placing an order, now is the perfect time — all orders placed before 1st July will be at our current prices.
To thank you for your support, we’re offering an exclusive discount before the new prices take effect.
Use code: thankyou
Enjoy 10% off your order until 14th June
This is the perfect opportunity to place your order at current prices and enjoy an additional saving before the increase.
Thank you for supporting a UK small business and for choosing quality. We truly appreciate every order ❤️
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