EYE ON DESIGN Rebecca Craig, head of design at Morris & Co, talks to us about the new Melsetter collection inspired by the work of May Morris

Why have you made the work of May Morris the focus for your latest collection?

May Morris is a fascinating and inspirational lady. The youngest daughter of William Morris, her extraordinary upbringing placed her at the physical and ideological heart of the English Arts and Crafts movement. For many years she was almost an unsung hero of the movement, but in the last few years there has been a real effort to reclaim her importance and celebrate her contribution. She was a dedicated scholar to her art form, and her study of historic needlework shaped the stitches, colours and designs created at Morris & Co. She was a role model for women in design and ahead of her time. A true designer maker, she was running her father’s embroidery department by age 23 and then went on to lecture in the field. She saw the joy in needlework and embraced it as a collaborative process. So, in this collection we wanted to pay homage to the incredible talents of May and other leading female embroiderers from the Arts and Crafts movement. Their flawless techniques and distinctive style earned a place in our hearts, deserving to be recognised and enjoyed. The Melsetter collection is a mix of original and reimagined designs, each with their own historical story. All new interpretations are painstakingly handpainted. Tell us about the feature design, Melsetter The inspiration behind this design came from the beautiful embroidered bed hangings that May designed for her father’s home Kelmscott Manor, as well as another bed hanging at Melsetter house in Orkney, worked on by both May Morris and the property owner Theodosia Middlemore. The new interpretation of the design by Morris & Co showcases May’s spectacular motifs of birds and flowerheads trailing a central fruit tree. It is handpainted in a fresco effect in colourways designed to reflect the beautiful Orkney landscape. How can these new prints be used to decorate? There is a real mix of scale in the collection, which makes it very versatile. If you want to go down the more maximalist route, try mixing and matching different scales and patterns. To complement the Melsetter fabric and wallpaper collections we have also introduced Lethaby Weaves, a range of textural dual-purpose semiplain weaves in the Morris palette, to create wonderful backdrops to the feature designs.