Yay for Arts and Crafts!

Nope, no glue guns, popsicle sticks, or pom poms here -- I am talking about the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th century! This period marks a return to the handmade aesthetic as a response to growing industrialism throughout Europe and the United States, encompassing not only art and design, but home furnishings and architecture as well. Artisans of this time employed old world techniques of printing and design, also adopting a gothic-medieval style. It is to Arts and Crafters like William Morris and his buddies that we are all eternally indebted for designing some of the most outrageously beautiful books, typefaces, textiles, and wallpapers. EVER.

For my last birthday, my mom gave me a wonderful book, The Pattern Sourcebook: A century of surface design, by Drusilla Cole. In it is a catalog of prints and patterns collected from textiles, wallpapers, furniture, ceramics, and other decorative designs that spans from the early 1800s to contemporary. For me, it is my go-to book for inspiration....perhaps a little like Owen Jones' 1856 catalog The Grammar of Ornament, yes? Anyway, as I was perusing through the book, I came across some lovely Arts and Crafts samples from Willy Morris and friends. You can clearly see the Medieval influences in these ornate prints with interlocking elements, which are also echoed in their type and book designs. My favorite is the second picture, Carnation by Kate Faulkner, which was the first machine-printed wallpaper design that the William Morris & Co. ever printed. True, to their mission of traditional hand crafts, the Morris Co. only printed one other design by machine; all the rest were printed by highly trained artisans. I apologize if the pictures are poor quality, my camera was dying....Enjoy!

William Morris. Strawberry Thief. Hand printed textile. 1870s

Kate Faulkner. Carnation. Wallpaper Design. 1875.

William De Morgan. Hand painted ceramic tiles. 1870.

*All pictures taken from The Pattern Sourcebook: A century of surface design by Drusilla Cole, 2009. Available at Barnes & Noble. I HIGHLY recommend it! 



 **Like my Drop Cap "N"? It was designed by the beyond talented type designer/illustrator Jessica Hische as part of her Daily Drop Cap Project. Hische has graciously published a series of lovely alphabet characters for free on non-commercial websites and blogs. This one reminds me of the embellished "3D" wide fat-face typefaces of the 1830s-40s. THANK YOU JESSICA!