William Morris

The Arts and Crafts Movement was founded by William Morris. This movement was brought on by the dissatisfaction with the quality of work produced by the industrial revolution. Morris felt felt that mass-produced objects destroyed the relationship between designer and craftsman and he wanted reinstate the importance of handcrafted, functional, objects. As a designer he wanted to reinstate the connection between the craftsmen and designers. he felt that if he brought them together created a closer working relationship between the two the work would be of better quality. Morris, along with other leaders of the Arts and Crafts movement valued work that was true to the natural beauty of the materials, as well as simplified design aesthetics and the evidence of the craftsman’s hand. Craftsmen from this period were informed by the styling of the late Gothic and early renaissance, as many of them including Morris, studied under Gothic revivalists. Morris along with other followers of the movement incorporated natural forms into their designs.
Morris envisioned a socialist leaning doctrine wanting to create affordable and practical hand crafted objects for everyday use in the homes of the middle class. More importantly, Morris wanted to use smaller more personalized production to give workers enjoyable jobs where they could be take on creative and challenging projects with pride. Often graced with the prestigious title "Father of the lazy boy" Morris' adjustable back chair was the first of its kind. Since Morris, the arts and crafts movement became very diverse, with a wide range of influences and stylistic elements; in fact, proponents of the movement would even discourage its categorization as a style