English textile designer William Morris was born in Essex, in 1834. His family was really wealthy, and his mother was from bourgeois family, so he was able to study design and invest in his own business. Innovative and highly talented, this man really made a great difference in textile industry. William Morris designs reinstated some traditional textile dyeing technique and the use of natural colors.
He was highly interested in medieval history and architecture. During his study in Oxford, he met his future friend and co-worker Edward Burne-Jones. Once he passed his finals, he got an apprentice with Gothic revival architect George Edmund Street, where he met another one of his future close friends and collaborators, Phillip Web. Both these gentlemen had great influence on his work.
Together with Web, he designed his first family home, in a place called Bexleyheath, maybe ten miles from London. Unusual L shape, uncharacteristic for the time, and interesting construction make this lovely house really unique. It was made from red tiles and bricks and named Red House. Red House is today open for visitors and it is really interesting to see its interior decoration and painted walls.
Soon after his interest for architecture was no longer in focus, he began to design wallpapers. The Trellis, his first wallpaper design he made in 1862, was really a work of art. His company was dealing with various projects. The Green Dining Room can be seen in Victoria and Albert museum. It is now called Morris Room.
When he became the sole owner of this company, he had changed its name to Morris and Co. At the time, alkaline dyes were used for dyeing textile. Worried about the environment, he didn't want to use these chemical dyes. Instead of that, he reinstated the use of natural dyes. He used indigo for blue, and different roots for achieving other colors.
His designs soon became very popular. Beautiful printed textiles and woven wool furnishing fabrics were highly successful. One really nice example of his designs is called Peacock and Dragon, and it is really detailed and highly attractive. In addition, he was preoccupied with writing, translating and his political activities, but not equally successful in all these areas.
The company was also used for creating stained glass. One of these lovely stained windows he made together with Edward Burne-Jones can be seen in Trinity church in Boston, Massachusetts. His company produced very wide variety of artistic items, including beautiful tapestries, furnishing textiles, dyed silk and stained glass.
Although rolling printing technique was already in use, for his first wallpaper repeating pattern he decided to use hand woodblock printing, one more traditional technique. Thanks to his stubborn use of natural colors only, they were eventually reinstated in textile production. His woven and printed fabrics are examples of really extraordinary designs.
Today, numerous museums and galleries keep beautiful samples of his immortal designs in their collections. They can be seen in several places in London, but also in different museums all over the world. This involves extraordinary tapestries, lovely examples of stained glass and woven fabrics, wallpapers and furnishes. Undeniable talent, great dedication and unique vision shaped these beautifully designed decorative items.
He was highly interested in medieval history and architecture. During his study in Oxford, he met his future friend and co-worker Edward Burne-Jones. Once he passed his finals, he got an apprentice with Gothic revival architect George Edmund Street, where he met another one of his future close friends and collaborators, Phillip Web. Both these gentlemen had great influence on his work.
Together with Web, he designed his first family home, in a place called Bexleyheath, maybe ten miles from London. Unusual L shape, uncharacteristic for the time, and interesting construction make this lovely house really unique. It was made from red tiles and bricks and named Red House. Red House is today open for visitors and it is really interesting to see its interior decoration and painted walls.
Soon after his interest for architecture was no longer in focus, he began to design wallpapers. The Trellis, his first wallpaper design he made in 1862, was really a work of art. His company was dealing with various projects. The Green Dining Room can be seen in Victoria and Albert museum. It is now called Morris Room.
When he became the sole owner of this company, he had changed its name to Morris and Co. At the time, alkaline dyes were used for dyeing textile. Worried about the environment, he didn't want to use these chemical dyes. Instead of that, he reinstated the use of natural dyes. He used indigo for blue, and different roots for achieving other colors.
His designs soon became very popular. Beautiful printed textiles and woven wool furnishing fabrics were highly successful. One really nice example of his designs is called Peacock and Dragon, and it is really detailed and highly attractive. In addition, he was preoccupied with writing, translating and his political activities, but not equally successful in all these areas.
The company was also used for creating stained glass. One of these lovely stained windows he made together with Edward Burne-Jones can be seen in Trinity church in Boston, Massachusetts. His company produced very wide variety of artistic items, including beautiful tapestries, furnishing textiles, dyed silk and stained glass.
Although rolling printing technique was already in use, for his first wallpaper repeating pattern he decided to use hand woodblock printing, one more traditional technique. Thanks to his stubborn use of natural colors only, they were eventually reinstated in textile production. His woven and printed fabrics are examples of really extraordinary designs.
Today, numerous museums and galleries keep beautiful samples of his immortal designs in their collections. They can be seen in several places in London, but also in different museums all over the world. This involves extraordinary tapestries, lovely examples of stained glass and woven fabrics, wallpapers and furnishes. Undeniable talent, great dedication and unique vision shaped these beautifully designed decorative items.
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