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William Morris in 2019

18th April 2019

William Morris, born in 1834, remains a famous British textile designer, artist writer, poet and social activist; amongst other things. He remains one of the best known artists and designers; his art has remained, transcending years to still be as relevant and beautiful today as it was when he first produced it.

Using traditional methods of production, Morris wanted to move away from the industrialisation that was occurring a the time and back towards more traditional methods of production by talented craftsmen. For example, Strawberry Thief was produced at Merton Abbey using an Indigo Dye Technique. This took days to complete and was a complicated system using an Indigo Vat and Mordants – you can read more about that in this blog.

Today, you will see William Morris designs in indie cafes, bars and restaurants around the UK and further afield – his designs are now popular around the world in Japan. We have an exclusive retailer in Japan and still wonder what Morris would think that his designs are loved world-wide so long after they were first created. Lots of his inspiration came from his garden; Strawberry Thief in particular popular because it was inspired by the Thrushes stealing his strawberries from under the fruit net at his home, Red House (he watched this from on the privy!)

Today, Marc Jacobs has featured his prints, H&M has had an entire collection featuring his designs and quotes from his poetry. You can’t walk down the high street without seeing either an authentic print or one ‘inspired’ by a Morris print. It’s remarkable to think the utter influence he holds even now. It feels like in 2019 more than ever, his popularity is increasing – either by people picking up on a wallpaper and asking about it or researching more into the designs they see and like and enquiring more into it. That’s the great thing about today’s consumer – we ask questions more than ever before and are encouraged to look more into where and how our products are made. That leads them to discover more about Morris himself. Please remember that if you ever want to read about how our products are made and our sustainability pledge, we provide full transparency in this blog.

His art is still featured in world famous galleries such as the Victoria & Albert in London and also the Tate. Featured in many exhibitions about himself but also those of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts & Crafts movement – in which he was a huge part of and incredibly influential.

You’ll probably also have heard his most famous quote, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” This has inspired the work of artists and interior designers for hundreds of years!

There’s so many parts of Morris’s legacy that have lived on, each interesting in their own right. Whilst of course, we focus and appreciate his designs in particular, there is so much to read and learn about Morris – make sure to read more on our blog to learn more about him and the other influential members of the Brotherhood, Firm and his family.

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Had to video us cutting beautiful William Morris Willow Bough today, this heavyweight fabric is off to be made into curtains, it’ll look so stunning! 🫶🏻 If you’d like a free sample just let us know ☺️
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #preraphaelite #floraldesign #fabrics #curtainfabric #ukbusiness
Just waiting for the trick or treaters 🎃 
On the table; our William Morris Daisy napkin and placemats 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #florals #halloween #halloweendecor #daisy #floraldesign #preraphaelite #burleighpottery
Turning Charlotte Rose Halloween-y with our little pumpkin napkin fold 🎃
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#tablescape #tablesettings #frenchfloral #frenchflorals #frenchdesign #williammorris #independentbusiness #ukbusiness #charlotterose #florals #napkinfolding #halloweentable
Proving there’s nothing Bertie won’t do for a biscuit, he’s ready for a Halloween party 🎃 As a treat for all our Instagram friends, take 15% off our entire website until Halloween with code: AUTUMN 🍂
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #compton #williammorrisdesign #labrador #labstagram #halloweendog #halloweendogcostume #halloweendogs🎃👻🐶 #dogsofinstagram #lablife #lablife🐾
Spend a Friday evening with us settling down for a little cheese board✨ Our Mallow William Morris design is always so stunning 🥰 
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#tablescape #tablesettingideas #cheeseboardsoftiktok #tablescape #williammorris #morris #preraphaelite #countrykitchen #mallow
We could never admit to how long it took us to fold our Compton napkin into a pumpkin 😮‍💨🎃
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #floraldesign #preraphaelite #compton #napkinfolding
Halloween, but make it floral 🍂✨🎃
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #willowbough #halloweentable #halloweentablescape #pumpkinfloral #pumpkinflower
A very Pimpernel breakfast! 🍂 We love mix and matching Pimpernel Cream and Green 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #pimpernel #floraltable #floraldesign #florals
A pvc tablecloth is fantastic as it simply wipes clean which often makes it our top pick for meal times, they come in many Morris designs and are sold by the half metre to fit every table, it won’t fray so doesn’t need a hem 👻 keep watching to see who our tea guest was 😉
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #strawberrythief #williammorrisfabrics #pvctablecloth #autumntable #autumntablescape #halloweentable #labrador #blacklabsofinstagram #funnylabrador
This is such an easy napkin fold and so effective too! 🫶🏻 We love Willow Bough blue and green layered together ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #tablescape #napkinfolding #napkinfold #burleighpottery
NEW LAUNCH! 🫶🏻 William Morris Daisy is now available to buy as fabric by the half metre! 🌼 we’ve always been asked for this by the half metre so you can shop now, please note that it’s a narrower printed design than usual 🪡🧵 It’s such a beautiful design, Morris’ first ever design so always such a special design for fans of his work! 🫶🏻
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#Williammorris #williammorrisfabric #fabrics #fabricstash #ukindependentbusiness #printedintheuk
Floral fabric stack 🫶🏻 Did you know all our William Morris fabrics are sold by the half metre? So for projects big and small, we’ve got you covered 🪡 Message us for free samples if you see a design you like 🥰
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #fabrics #fabric #fabricdestashuk #floralfabric #preraphaelite #floralstack
We absolutely love Pimpernel Green, a timeless design it was first designed in 1876 by Morris, and is as beautiful today as it was then! 🍂
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorris #preraphaelites #preraphaelitebrotherhood #pimpernel #floraldesign #fabric #fabricstore #printedintheuk
Beautiful poetry by Morris 🍂 Did you know he was a writer as well as a designer? 🤎 This is his poem called “Autumn” 🍁
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#williammorris #williammorriscompton #compton #autumn #poetry #poems #words #morris
All month we will be staying on a Halloween theme with treats galore (preferably something yummy and baked..) 🎃 
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #preraphaelite
Getting craft ready for Halloween with our little wool ghosts! 👻 We’re going to use them on place settings and on a Halloween tree 🎃 Super easy to make, all you need is wool, felt or googly eyes and some glue 🤎 we hope you like our first crafty video, we started with one ghost in the background and re did this video so many times we ended up with a whole ghost party- and we ended up covered in googly eyes 😂 The idea of the ghosts was from @thepomwreathcompany 🧡 
featuring our William Morris Compton design 🍂
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #compton #autumncraft #autumncrafts #halloweencrafts #ghost #woolcraft #fabric
Autumn tables could potentially be one of our favourites! 🤎 Featuring our William Morris Compton design 🍂🧡
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#williammorris #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #fabric #compton #autumnal #autumntable #autumntablescape
Weekend evenings warming cookies in the oven 🍪👩‍🍳 Using our Golden Lily oven gloves of course 🤎
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#autumn #autumnevenings #williammorris #cookies #goldenlily #preraphaelite
We adore these stunning Morris designs all together, don’t you? 🤎
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#williammorris #morris #morrisdesign #fatquarters #quiltingfabric #preraphaelite #craftfabric #craftfabrics #fabric
Willow Bough Blue is back in stock! ✨ Year-round this design is an incredibly popular one, isn’t it incredible that it was designed by William Morris in 1887 and remains so timeless all these years later! 🩶
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#williammorris #morris #willowbough #design #floraldesign #williammorrisdesign #preraphaelites #victoriandesign