Textiles Inspiration: William Morris

Acanthus by William Morris for Morris & Co.

Where would textiles design be without be without William Morris?

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
William Morris

Snakeshead by William Morris for Morris & Co, 1876

Born in Walthamstow, London on 24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896. He was (well to my mind anyway) the most important textiles designer in the Arts & Crafts Movement and an advocator of the revival of traditional methods in the production of textiles. There is a lot to say about this man, he was a writer, a poet, an artist, designer, politician and an important preservationist. But it’s his design that blows my mind. Such intricate patterns in perfect repeat and trust me, this was not easy to reproduce back then on the printing table!

Pomegranate by William Morris for Morris & Co. 1866

Morris’s prints and designs are still produced today by Liberty of London and Sanderson and Sons. He will go on to inspire art and design forever…

Gwyn