"He was our best man. We cannot spare him; we cannot replace him.
In all England there lives no braver, kinder, honester, cleverer, heartier man
than William Morris. He is dead, and we cannot help feeling for a while that
nothing else matters."
The Clarion Oct. 1896
Morris' decorating style was revolutionary because it was natural, one could
almost say organic, in an age that was just embracing
mass-production and lower standards of quality and design. An ardent socialist,
he believed in art for the people.
He was a perfectionist when it came to colour and he researched various dyeing
techniques including the discharge method.
His hands were often dyed blue for weeks after working in the vats. He taught
himself embroidery by unpicking canvas and actually sold
embroidery kits.
Beth Russell has worked hard with needlepoint kits
to be as faithful as possible to the original William Morris designs. Luckily
for us all, the
wealth of material that he produced: wallpaper, tapestry, fabric, typefaces,
poetry, embroidery and books gives us a nearly endless supply
of inspiration. She has adapted some of Morris' poetry and writings into needlework
samplers and his other designs into needlepoint pillows, cushions,
miniature kits and rugs (not to mention the odd fire-screen and wall-hanging).