Spotlight on Morris & Co.
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. -William Morris
Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together. -John Ruskin
William Morris (1834 – 1896) was a legendary English textile designer and an artist, writer, political theorist, and poet. He was a major contributor to the revival of British textile arts and a key figure in the British Arts and Crafts movement, which started to change the value society placed on how things were made during the late 19th century. This movement was a reaction to the damaging effects of industrialization, factory work, and the relatively low status of the decorative arts. It created a desire for a return to a less dehumanizing way of manufacturing products.
In 1861, Morris founded Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., a small-scale workshop that championed the principle of handmade production, which set it apart from the Victorian era’s focus on industrialized ‘progress’. Their firm specialized in medieval-inspired wall paintings, tapestries, church decoration, and stained glass. During the late 1860s, two prestigious design commissions established their firm’s reputation. One was for a new dining room In the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum) and another at St James’s Palace. During this period, Morris also produced his first wallpapers, which were inspired by English gardens and hedgerows and were made using historical hand wood block printing.
In 1875, Morris became the sole director of Morris & Company, and he created a vast range of new designs for printed fabrics, woven fabrics, wallpaper, and more designs for carpets, rugs and tapestries. He became one of the most celebrated designers of his time, and his famous designs include "Strawberry Thief” and "Willow Bough." He reinstated indigo dyeing as a practical industry and renewed the use of vegetable dyes such as rose madder, a red paint made from the roots of the Rubia tinctorum plant that was used for dyeing wools, silks, and cottons. Morris was fascinated by mastering the techniques that were needed to create the effects he admired in historical furnishings.
Although Morris & Co.’s most influential period was during the Arts and Crafts Movement of the1880s, it remained in operation in a limited fashion from World War I until its closure in 1940.
Morris and Co. had a profound influence on the decoration of churches and houses into the early 20th century. Today the company is probably best remembered for its intricate, swirling botanical fabrics and wallpapers, and as a business with a rich history of decorating the walls of many country houses.
Today, in collaboration with renowned British heritage brands, Morris & Co. is curating a selection of tableware that are inspired by archival patterns. The company is reimagining Morris designs to create eye-catching dinnerware, tea pots, mugs, and other delightful serving pieces. I am so happy to be presenting some of my favorite Morris & Co. items in the Menus and Music Catalog.
