About Us
We are Morris & Co.
Morris & Co. is the authentic home of the celebrated textile designer William Morris. Founded in 1861 by Morris, Marshall, Faulker & Co. (as it was originally known) is the culmination of his life’s work and his legacy and those of his contemporaries that made up his pioneering company.
Every design has been preserved and adapted from the original documents stored in our rich archive, to honour the techniques and traditions established by our founder and upheld by his collective of distinguished artists.
Our Founder: William Morris
William Morris was one of the pioneers of the Arts & Crafts movement in nineteenth century Britain. He taught himself intricate techniques such as how to embroider, dye fabric and block print repeating wallpaper, all of which would provide the basis for his textiles business in the years to come.
Morris established his first iteration of Morris & Co. known as Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in 1861 and set out to revolutionise British design. Above all else, Morris and his collaborators aspired to revive the art of hand-making items for the home, which had been forgotten in the Industrial Revolution. Learn more about our innovative founder here.
The Early Years
Based in London, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. were a small team of passionate artists who shared Morris’ distinct appetite for the rich, gothic revival in interiors, which captured the grandeur of the English countryside in ornate repeating patterns.
The company was commissioned to decorate heritage sites such as the Green Dining Room at Victoria & Albert Museum - at the time known as the South Kensington Museum - and the Armoury and Tapestry rooms at St. James’s Palace in London. These prestigious projects consolidated Morris’s pivotal place at the forefront of British design, where he has remained ever since.
The Making of Morris & Co.
In the years that followed, Morris expanded his circle of trusted collaborators and rebranded the company to Morris & Co. in 1875. After Morris’s death in 1896, his protégé John Henry Dearle, former shop assistant-turned-tapestry apprentice and designer, took over as creative director to continue the company’s design legacy.
The Evolution of Morris & Co.
In the early 1900s, the company broke with historical tradition and issued six machine printed wallpapers including Merton and Anemone. Shortly after, Morris & Co. also released its first plain wallpaper collection in 1913, available in 53 heritage colours, all of which signified a distinct change from Morris’s approach to manufacturing hand-drawn patterned designs.
After a turbulent few decades, in 1940, Morris & Co. Art-Workers Ltd (as it was known at the time) entered voluntary liquidation and was bought for the modest sum of £400 by Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd.
Modern Day Morris & Co.
Now, Morris & Co. is home to over 160 years of artistic heritage. Within the extensive archive there is a comprehensive record of Morris’s accomplishments, as well as historical logbooks and every wallpaper sample ever released. When crafting a new collection our designers make considered adaptations of archival documents, reimagining our heritage for all. Honouring Morris’s vision and upholding this standard of craftsmanship, defined by Morris himself, we are bringing Morris & Co. into the future while always in dialogue with our past.
Today, working out of our London-based studio at Voysey House in Chiswick, and manufacturing in our own UK factories, we continue to champion sustainability, homegrown talent and innovation, maintaining the highest possible standards of quality and craftsmanship.
Morris & Co. is honoured to be the custodians of this collective legacy of leading British designers.
