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11th March 2019
There’s so much to know about William Morris; in his sixty two years, he managed to achieve so much and leave such a legacy. It’s impossible to summarise it all in one blog; artist, designer, poet, writer, explorer, the list goes on. But did you know these things about Morris…
1. His nickname was Topsy. This was because of his hair that they thought was reminiscent of a characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
2. Morris is well known for being a socialist. He famously said, “…I do not want art for a few; any more than education for a few; or freedom for a few… ” and by the end of there 1870s, Morris was very involved in political activism. In 1883, he joined H.M. Hyndman’s Socialist League. He didn’t want to unify all the socialist groups within England as Hyndman wanted to. He therefore helped to form the new Socialist League – even becoming the editor of its journal. In 1885, he was actually arrested for disorderly conduct during a socialist demonstration (he was later discharged.)
3. If you take a look through Morris’ designs, you’ll note that his main influence for designs was nature. Taking elements of nature from animals in Strawberry Thief and Brother Rabbit to flowers in Lily and plants and trees like in Willow Bough. He loved taking walks in the countryside by his home and it was a huge point of inspiration for him
4. Along with all his other achievements, did you know William Morris set up his own printing press? The Kelmscott Press was set up as another of Morris’s attempts to keep a traditional art form going in the face of industrialisation. The art of the books you can see that he printed were stunning; he really wanted everything from the font to the details to reflect the art of the words. In 1891, Morris rented a cottage near Kelmscott House where he would set up three printing presses. He designed and manufactured editions of over 50 books – printing over 18,000 volumes from those three presses. The authors of these included his own work and those of Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, Coleridge, Swinburne and Rossetti. These were works he loved and was inspired by.
5. In 1860, Morris and his wife Jane moved into their home Red House. The architect on the project was friend Philip Webb who worked with Morris on his dream home. They spent the following two years decorating the home to their taste, in doing so they enlisted help from their friends on the artistic scene. The result was a stunning showcase of design; murals on the walls, hand embroidered fabrics and details that would have rivalled even the most decadent of homes. The ‘joy in collective labour’ that occurred during this time, coupled with the fact Morris was unhappy that there was nothing on the market that he could buy that he felt was beautiful enough to be in his home was the prompt for The Firm. In 1861, Morris and his artistic friends decided to create their own interiors business. All had varied skills and so they wanted to make it a joy in their skills and passions coming together to create stunning interior furnishings for peoples homes. Of course – it would also be rebelling against industrialisation at the time by using skilled craftsmen. ‘The Firm’ as it was lovingly referred to was actually called Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and when it was disbanded, became Morris & Co. – Morris’s legacy.
It was so hard for us to pair this down to only five facts! There was so much for us to choose from to talk about within this blog. But, if you’re interested in learning more about Morris, please make sure you read all our other blogs!
Posted in William Morris by Laura
Do you have a fave out of these beautiful William Morris florals? 🌿 We could never pick just one 🪻
Designs top row; Willow Bough Green & Golden Lily
Designs bottom row; Pimpernel Cream, Pimpernel Green & Compton ✨
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Our William Morris florals Daisy and Willow Bough Green expertly modelled by Bertie during his weekend away to the beautiful @castle_howard - he enjoyed wearing a floral cravatte and bow tie pretending to be a Bridgerton (the bow tie did indeed end up being a bow on the top of his head after one too many sniffs 😂🎀)
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Inspired by nature and designed by William Morris, aren’t they all just such beautifully timeless designs 🫶🏻
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Back in stock alert! 🫧 A firm favourite for many, we absolutely love William Morris Brother Rabbit design, don’t you? 🫶🏻 If you’d like a sample, just send us a message 💌
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Did you know all our fabric is printed in the UK and all our products manufactured in the UK too? 🫶🏻 As a small business ourselves, it’s important to us to celebrate and support independent businesses and we love how many incredible businesses use our fabrics for their own products! 🩷
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Bertie is celebrating national dog day in (floral) style on his new little car bed we made, with matching Sweet Briar accessories of course 🥰 If you’re wanting to know how we made this to fit our car, let us know, we’re always happy to write a blog on our craft bits! 🫶🏻
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Calling all quilters! 🫧 Our 100% cotton fat quarters are now available individually on our website! In all our licensed William Morris designs, they are incredible for quilts 🪡 If you order four, you get one free, so please message us to choose the design of your free fat quarter 🫶🏻
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Missing peony season ✨ We’re loving layering Willow Bough blue and green together at the moment, don’t they look so good together 🤍
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We hope everyone’s enjoyed a beautifully sunny weekend ☀️ Bertie enjoyed wearing some Morris florals in the sun ⛱️ For our tutorial on how to make a dog bandana, check out our blog! 🥰
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Did you know that in Japan where our projects are sold, our tea towels are used not only for being functional but for decoration - we love that they’re framed, or laid on the table as a centrepiece to be admired or hung as a draped item to bring some nature indoors 🌿 we thought we’d do the same by using the tea towel as a centrepiece for a simple cup of tea and very delicious piece of cake! 🍰
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With so many timeless designs and writings, we think Morris achieved his aim, don’t you? 🫶🏻
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Lazy Sunday mornings 💤 our William Morris Strawberry Thief tablecloths are now back in stock in all sizes if you fancy adding some floral magic to your table ✨ Hope you all have a lovely Sunday! 🩷
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A beautiful day on the beach; we had to take our incredible small Compton tote bag to carry a certain someone’s special treats that we got from the lovely @nationaltrust shop, can you tell he was very happy with them! 😂🫶🏻
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We’re going to have to look at this English summer through our rose coloured specs we think and set the table summery despite the rain!☔️🩷 We thought this made the perfect table setting; a bouquet with blooms out the garden wrapped in a Daisy napkin cone, doesn’t it look great! 🫶🏻 We’re going to put a small bunch at everyone’s seat and then they can take them home to enjoy at their houses 🌿
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✨ It’s the last day for 20% off our whole website! ✨ Use code: floralsummer at checkout on our website today only! 🫶🏻
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We’re thinking of selling our William Morris Daisy fabric by the half metre 🫶🏻 It’s a much narrower fabric than our usual fabrics, but we’ve had some customers interested in it in cotton and heavyweight for projects such as upholstery, curtain and dress making and quilting projects, what do you all think? ✨🌿
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✨✨ Offer extended ✨✨ We forgot to give you warning that our 20% off code was expiring and we thought it would brighten up some rainy July days, so now until the 14th July, take 20% off our website using code: FLORALSUMMER ☂️
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Always learning new napkin folds- anyone fancy a tutorial on how to make this little cutlery napkin jacket? 🍴🫶🏻 We’ve been using Willow Bough green and blue together on the table lately and we LOVE them together! 🌿 what do you think? Would you put them together on your table? ☺️
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These blooms 😍 We absolutely adore this design Charlotte Rose, it’s from our French archive that we lovingly restored to its former glory and bring out all year round for on the table- we paired it here with our Willow Bough green tablecloth and the greens and pinks go together so well 🫶🏻
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Cut this wonderful fabric stack yesterday 🫶🏻 All these beautiful Morris florals together in our heavyweight fabrics 🪡🧵
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