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William Morris Trellis

29th April 2018

Inspired by the rose trellis in the garden of Red House, his home in Bexleyheath, Trellis was the first wallpaper designed by William Morris in 1864. The first three wallpapers he produced, Trellis, Daisy and Fruit are produced using a hand-printing process which took a lot of time to do and therefore cost a lot of money – each colour in the design required a separate block and so the trio of designs used each required 12 blocks so had to wait on these designs until the early 1870s when the Firm’s finances were more balanced.

It’s incredible to think that an artists first three designs are so stunning and have stood the test of time to be relevant and current and stylish so long after they were first designed. The interior fabrics used today are still similar to the ones produced by Morris and his influential designs appear to be still influencing designers and artists of today, how many designs do you look like that have been produced today which are similar or take inspiration from Morris.

Though he designed Trellis first, he did not produce it first as it had to wait for a finishing touch from his lifelong friend Philip Webb to design the birds and insects. The birds within the design are a beautiful addition in the design, which is a classic element of Morris and Webb’s work with naturalistic elements. This design in particular was obviously a firm favourite of both Morris and Webb despite the lots of different designs  they produced since thirty years later Webb used Trellis extensively at Standen. It was also adapted for use for the bed hangings at Kelmscott Manor. The rooms it can still be seen in today are; the morning room corridor and the lobby which leads to the conservatory, May Morris also noted remembering it decorating her bedroom in Queen Square. She even was quoted that she used to lay awake at night scared by one of the birds within the design, ‘because he was thought to be wicked and very alive.’

We license and produce William Morris’s Trellis, one of our newest designs we’ve done on products, it’s grid like pattern dispersed with wildlife, birds and roses on the trellis is a beautiful one and a truly stand out piece not only in the history of William Morris, but even looking at his catalogue of work, remains of our favourites. It seems he didn’t need any lead up to producing one of his most iconic designs!

Also using Trellis as a featured pattern in our William Morris collection which features both Trellis, a photo of William Morris, his photo, signature and also one of his most famous quotes, “have nothing in your houses you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” depending on the product (different products feature various combinations of these.) Words to live by for sure, and ones that are beautiful on a tote bag! We’ve really been enjoying using this William Morris shopper bag as it can be folded down in your handbag until you need it on a shopping trip and then you can bring it out to use it – lightweight, useful and chic!

Have a look at our full range of Trellis products here and scroll down to see more of our beautiful products…

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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 🌷 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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🐥 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 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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🌷 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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📝 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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☀️ 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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🐰 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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🍓 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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🍓 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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