William Morris
William Morris (1834–1896) was the single most influential designer of the nineteenth century. Today Morris & Co. guarantees authentic versions of those designs alongside new interpretations, using innovations in printing and weaving technology to create up-to-date fabric and wallpaper designs with timeless appeal.
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Bird Tapestry Fabric
£349.00 /mPaired birds alternate between perched and in-flight in this serene 1878 tapestry design from William Morris. Surprising bursts of colour emerge upon closer inspection pulling the eye towards the original hand-driven jacquard loom production quality. William Morris designed Bird in 1878 to adorn the walls of his own drawing room in Kelmscott House. His friend and neighbour the noted typographer Sir Emery Walker adorned his dining room with an identical Bird tapestry after receiving an inheritance from either Morris or Philip Webb the famous Arts & Crafts architect.
Our modern Bird tapestry retains William Morris’s high regard for craftsmanship being woven by Morris & Co. craftspeople right here in the UK using a cotton-wool blend (80% wool).
Available in two colourways: Tump Green and Webb’s Blue
Bluebell Fabric
£119.00 /mPerhaps one of the most endearing qualities of William Morris was his love for ordinary flowers native to the UK. Bluebell is an 1876 design that takes as its subject the charming but common bluebell flower. Morris’s design is a richly packed symmetrical arrangement and continues his tradition of naming the design after the secondary flower. Framed by bold acanthus leaves and entwined by larger foliage the humble bluebell weaves this design together like it does the forest floor in spring.
Available in three colourways: Leafy Arbour Indigo/Rose and Leaf Green/Sweet Briar
Borage Fabric
£89.00 /mMorris & Co. are thrilled to re-introduce Borage an 1883 design by William Morris. Originally conceived as a furnishing fabric Borage’s spirited floral pattern and multiple axes of symmetry bring a lively point of visual interest to any furniture item. Beloved by bees and other pollinators Borage is a perfect example of William Morris drawing ideas about ornamenting interiors from the natural world.
Borage re-enters the Morris & Co. range due to the collaboration collection with Emery Walker’s House the historic home of noted typographer and close friend of William Morris. Walker dutiful to the design ideas of his friend William Morris has used Borage as a furnishing fabric in his drawing room to great effect.
Available in three colourways: Sunflower Indigo (loyal to Emery’s original) and Barbed Berry
Bower Fabric
£119.00 /mThe definition of a bower a pleasant shady place under trees or climbing plants in a garden or forest aptly describes this upliftingly rich design. Registered as a William Morris pattern in 1877 Bower depicts a floral wonderland of foliage and flowers ripe with life. The Bough’s Green/Rose colourway is the closest to the joyous original whilst Indigo and Barbed Berry/Indigo offer moodier and cooler hues respectively with Herball/Weld being a happy mid-tone.
Available in four colourways: Bough’s Green-Rose Herball/Weld Indigo and Barbed Berry/Indigo
Compton Fabric
£119.00 /mJust like a rekindled love affair Ben discovered this iconic print stowed away in our archive. Instantly mesmerised he recoloured and updated Compton to include cheerful daffodil yellows and vibrant pops of indigo blue poppy red and sunset orange.
Designed by John Henry Dearle in 1895 especially for Compton Hall in Wolverhampton the original pattern required two sets of woodblocks to print all 28 colours. Available in two colourways: Spring and Gorse Yellow.
Daisy Embroidery Fabric
£209.00 /mBursts of vivid multicolour please the eye at every turn in this newly embroidered fabric version of Morris & Co.’s earliest wallpaper (1864) Daisy. Hand-knotted finishes to the floral detailing couple with chunky stitching help to convey a crafted tactile feel on a 100% linen base cloth. What makes Daisy so iconic are the sprays of floral miniatures inspired by William Morris’s visits to the British Museum’s illuminated manuscripts creating a design which looks back on centuries of craftwork.
Today’s Daisy Embroidery takes as its source the Daisy wallpaper featured in the Arts & Crafts home of noted typographer book printer and friend of Morris Sir Emery Walker.
Available in one colourway: Cream Multi
Dorothys Kilim Fabric
£185.00 /mThe delicately embroidered stripe design of this striking kilim lends to a room a diversity of pattern as well as added depth and a tactile finish. Dorothy’s Kilim draws from the original found in the bedroom of Dorothy Walker the well-travelled daughter of Sir Emery (noted typographer and close friend of William Morris’s). This colourful kilim is decorated in the Persian style and features geometric motifs typical of kilims from the old Persian Empire — Turkey and Turkic states.
Morris & Co. are thrilled to introduce only their second kilim ever for the Emery Walker’s House collection. Dorothy like her father travelled widely and rejoiced in the local craft traditions as is evidenced by this iconic kilim.
Available in two colourways: Barbed Berry/Indigo and Sunflower/Tump Green
Emerys Willow Fabric
£95.00 /mA new addition to the modern Morris & Co. fabric portfolio Emery’s Willow characteristically features playful bubble-like shapes as a backdrop. The willow tree with its delicately entwining branches and leaves that rustle evocatively in the slightest breeze is a motif William Morris consistently returned to throughout his creative life.
Emery’s Willow is based on a wallpaper design first produced in 1874 which was hung in the dining room of esteemed typographer book printer and friend of William Morris Sir Emery Walker.
Available in three colourways: Woad Blue Leaf Green and Citrus Stone
Flowers By May Fabric
£189.00 /mBeguiling jewel-like colours bring to life a startling array of meadow flowers set against a deep midnight indigo. A design of incredible detail and beauty Flowers By May originally adorned the seat of a 17th century chair which once stood in the library of William Morris. Residing since his death in the home of his friend neighbour and noted typographer Sir Emery Walker May Morris created the covered cushion with the dedication “MM to EW”. Flowers By May is a story about the creativity friendship can inspire spanning even generations.
Available in one colourway: Indigo (loyal to Emery’s original)
Mays Coverlet Fabric
£235.00 /mIn the bedroom of Emery Walker’s House lies a most incredible object now interpreted by the Morris & Co. design studio; a crewel embroidered coverlet. Created by May Morris daughter of William Morris for Emery’s wife Mary during the last bedridden years of her life it exemplifies May’s astonishing needlework abilities. It also stands as a beautiful tribute to the friendship enjoyed between the Morris and Walker women and the creativity that love inspired. A treasured item the coverlet was used as the pall on the coffin of many members of the Walker household.
May’s Coverlet is made using hand-guided embroidery on a 100% linen base cloth to carefully replicate the fine stitching pattern by May Morris.
Available in two colourways: Indigo/Rose and Twining Vine
Rose & Thistle Fabric
£99.00 /mRe-entering the Morris & Co. range for the first time in many years Rose & Thistle is arranged in a graceful meandering structure with alternating rose flowerheads. Set amongst the foliage small blooming thistles give this 1881 design an unmistakable character and wild charm. The deep indigo ground offers an almost sculptural quality to this furnishing fabric.
Morris & Co. are thrilled to re-introduce Rose & Thistle to the Morris & Co. portfolio for the Emery Walker’s House collection.
Available in one colourway: Indigo
Rose Fabric
£119.00 /mRose is a gorgeously layered design with sumptuous rearing tulip and rose heads and dramatic thorned stems. William Morris’s close observation of nature’s everyday dramas is evidenced here in the pair of cheerful birds that play among the thicket.
Originally designed by Morris as a furnishing fabric in 1883 Rose was widely used in the drawing room of Sir Emery Walker the noted typographer and friend of Morris. Rose re-enters the Morris & Co. range for the first time in many years exclusively for the Emery Walker’s House collection.
Available in two colourways: Weld/Leaf Green and Bough’s Green/Rose (loyal to Emery’s original)
The Beauty Of Life Fabric
£99.00 /mIntroducing a brand-new design from Morris & Co. Delivered to the Birmingham Society of Arts on February 19th 1880 The Beauty of Life is the lecture title of William Morris’s passionate appeal to “face the latest danger which civilisation is threatened with.” This rallying cry is forever immortalised on a sumptuous indigo fabric ornamented with quintessentially Morris motifs; scrolling foliage beautiful script and playful wildlife. The struggle to William Morris was the threat of industrialised capitalism to deprive the “whole race of all the beauty of life.”
The Beauty of Life is introduced to the Morris & Co. range for the Emery Walker’s House collection. The lettering is inspired by William Morris’s own book-printing press The Kelmscott Press a feat he managed with the unwavering support and guidance of expert typographer Sir Emery Walker.
Available in one colourway: Indigo
Trent Fabric
£119.00 /mTrent which began life in 1888 with the grand accolade of being Morris & Co.’s most expensive printed textile is a rich vibrant floral display. This luscious pattern features curving tulips and meandering acanthus leaves amongst other stalwarts of English gardens. Trent seamlessly imagines two of William Morris’s guiding design principles; ensnare the eye with sprawling repeats and beguile with masterfully rendered motifs.
Available in three colourways: Madder/Webb’s Blue Red House and Woad Blue