I agree entirely with everything you've said Kate, and lots of my colleagues in the interiors world would concur. The Sanderson Group have managed to cheapen the brand and strip it of its value. Not only would William Morris himself be spinning in his grave, I should imagine Terence Conran would be joining him! Both designers were innovators, promoting new creativity, and fresh design. Morris prints are a classic, but where are the new young creatives who should be showcased and given the recognition and contracts they deserve, creating the classics of the future? Preserve the best of the past, by all means, but promote and support the designers of the future too.
Yes, absolutely agree with this, much as I love Morris. It's cheaper to recycle free designs that already have an audience, than to invest in and encourage new designers, but if there are no new designers, what are we saying about how we value creativity?
Insightful, well researched summary thank you. Though your point was a plethora of replication and the worth thereof, perhaps May Morris deserves a mention?
We should be aware that the middle classes in the 19th and early 20th Century could not afford the fabrics etc. produced by William Morris. They were exclusively for the wealthy.
I’ve been thinking exactly this. I adore Morris prints, and always have, even when they were much less fashionable than they are now. I have a William Morris Pimpernel tattoo. I have his prints all over my house. I can’t help feeling Morris would be rolling in his grave if he saw all the mass-produced items stamped with digital prints.
I’m uneasy with how promiscuous Morris&Co are in their collaborations at the moment. Thanks for the observation that they’re trying to get ahead of all the cheaply made super-mass copies by producing ones of slight better quality. I hadn’t thought about it like that.
When anything goes up quite so far, it’s bound to go down, too. My tattoo, which I got before the current Morris-mania, is now going to be desperately unfashionable in ten years. :(
As a Morris fan of restricted means I am delighted by the more affordable options. The famous quote (have nothing etc) is to me about discernment (less but better) and consumerism wasn’t at today’s heady heights.
Some of the wallpaper designs in their original sizes are quite large scale so I wouldn’t use them, it’s nice to see versions that work in smaller homes.
I admit to being blown away by the Habitat x Morris tables and chairs, they’re fabulous!
I enjoyed the HM x Morris clothing collab a few years back too, sadly my maxi shirt dress is too small now but that fabric will be up cycled so I can enjoy the print for a while longer.
It’s true that Morris is everywhere at the moment but the intricacy of the designs is amazing, it still makes me gasp for its pattern mixing (so Celtic) and the love of the natural world.
This is a great post, I love Morris but it does seem to be everywhere-nail clipper sets anyone?!
I have an unrelated question, after seeing your re-cork cork flooring we ordered samples and loved them, however we just tried to place the order and their website no longer exists and their instagram has disappeared? Any ideas what happened? Slightly scared about starting to find new flooring at such short notice!
I agree entirely with everything you've said Kate, and lots of my colleagues in the interiors world would concur. The Sanderson Group have managed to cheapen the brand and strip it of its value. Not only would William Morris himself be spinning in his grave, I should imagine Terence Conran would be joining him! Both designers were innovators, promoting new creativity, and fresh design. Morris prints are a classic, but where are the new young creatives who should be showcased and given the recognition and contracts they deserve, creating the classics of the future? Preserve the best of the past, by all means, but promote and support the designers of the future too.
Yes, absolutely agree with this, much as I love Morris. It's cheaper to recycle free designs that already have an audience, than to invest in and encourage new designers, but if there are no new designers, what are we saying about how we value creativity?
Insightful, well researched summary thank you. Though your point was a plethora of replication and the worth thereof, perhaps May Morris deserves a mention?
We should be aware that the middle classes in the 19th and early 20th Century could not afford the fabrics etc. produced by William Morris. They were exclusively for the wealthy.
Now his work is ubiquitous!
I’ve been thinking exactly this. I adore Morris prints, and always have, even when they were much less fashionable than they are now. I have a William Morris Pimpernel tattoo. I have his prints all over my house. I can’t help feeling Morris would be rolling in his grave if he saw all the mass-produced items stamped with digital prints.
I’m uneasy with how promiscuous Morris&Co are in their collaborations at the moment. Thanks for the observation that they’re trying to get ahead of all the cheaply made super-mass copies by producing ones of slight better quality. I hadn’t thought about it like that.
When anything goes up quite so far, it’s bound to go down, too. My tattoo, which I got before the current Morris-mania, is now going to be desperately unfashionable in ten years. :(
As a Morris fan of restricted means I am delighted by the more affordable options. The famous quote (have nothing etc) is to me about discernment (less but better) and consumerism wasn’t at today’s heady heights.
Some of the wallpaper designs in their original sizes are quite large scale so I wouldn’t use them, it’s nice to see versions that work in smaller homes.
I admit to being blown away by the Habitat x Morris tables and chairs, they’re fabulous!
I enjoyed the HM x Morris clothing collab a few years back too, sadly my maxi shirt dress is too small now but that fabric will be up cycled so I can enjoy the print for a while longer.
It’s true that Morris is everywhere at the moment but the intricacy of the designs is amazing, it still makes me gasp for its pattern mixing (so Celtic) and the love of the natural world.
This is a great post, I love Morris but it does seem to be everywhere-nail clipper sets anyone?!
I have an unrelated question, after seeing your re-cork cork flooring we ordered samples and loved them, however we just tried to place the order and their website no longer exists and their instagram has disappeared? Any ideas what happened? Slightly scared about starting to find new flooring at such short notice!
That is very odd. I had a press release from their PR company on 28 August saying they were going to be at Decorex last week (I didn’t check if they were) and, as you say their website is now marked private and the Instagram has gone. Try these people (I know them personally but have not used the product) https://www.colourflooring.co.uk/collections/cork-flooring?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=CorkPmax&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADvQ2lhOWv_h80cAqf-kiqwk3Ok88&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyL24BhCtARIsALo0fSANVPW2FJEjiYkchbKLjj_3vrQgPhRpHYQN6gX0hvtrzan_mfrEEOAaAlQkEALw_wcB. Check also Jess Alavi-Ellis who has done a beautiful check cork floor (Instagram). Good luck.