The New Design Decoration Craft Reference Guide

Today sees the release of a new addition to Design Decoration Craft, the Reference Guide. This first in a series of new ebook formats, concerns perhaps fittingly, the life and work of William Morris, who many see as not only the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, but also the founder of many of the aspects that are part of the contemporary design and craft world, particularly concerned with present topics such as suitability of design, localised sourcing and sustainability.

The Design Decoration Craft Reference Guide: William Morris is a solely internet driven reference guide. The guide itself is made up of 473 separate internet links. All of these links are separated into various sections, which include text, imagery and video links all concerned with the subject of William Morris. A number of the links are to articles and books written by Morris himself, as well as those written about Morris both in his lifetime and long after his death. Many of the links to books and magazines are from the nineteenth and early twentieth century; many can also be downloaded if wished.

It has taken a lot of effort to put this reference guide together as all of the links are naturally scattered across the internet. It was largely my idea to bring together disparate links in order to give some clarity to what is available online. I also wanted to help gather both primary and secondary sources in one place in order to allow the individual to explore the various aspects of the life of William Morris, and through his words and imagery discover links with his ideals and that of design and craft of the twenty-first century.

The book itself has 59 pages as well as 23 William Morris illustrations. There is a general introduction as well as a short explanation as to some of the sites you will visit through the links. There are also short explanations and descriptions heading each separate section of the book. All links have been checked and double-checked. They are free from viruses and links are only included that go to long-term and dependable sites.

This will be the first of a number of reference guides and future subjects could include titles as diverse as medieval embroidery, Islamic calligraphy, Art Nouveau, Indian textiles, or the 1851 Great Exhibition. I am also happy to take suggestions as to possible subject headings and if I can find enough information for a guide, they will definitely be included.

These guides are, after all, meant as a useful helping tool to anyone who has been frustrated trying to gather online information about a particular subject, believe me I know the feeling. Therfore, if the guides can be of help and assistance then they will have done the job they have been set to do.

The Design Decoration Craft Reference Guide: William Morris can be found on the ebook page of the Design Decoration Craft site, as well as on the right hand side of the sight, just press the image cover to get to the ebook page. Alternatively, press here to get directly to the ebook page.

I hope that the guide proves useful and I look forward to publishing the next title in the series.

This guide adds to the other titles in my ebook catalogue, which now include: Islamic Decoration as seen by Owen Jones; Nature and Surface Pattern; Pugin the Pattern Designer; Ann Macbeth and the Glasgow Embroidery Style; William Morris and the Pattern of Nature; Victorian Medievalism. All are currently available on the same ebook page as the new reference guide.