The subject of Arts and Crafts Ceramic Tiles is always one that Country Floors is eager to chat about. Why not? Since 1964 we have been a fashion-forward supplier of materials, like these, to our long list of architects, designers, and savvy homeowners. Let’s talk about the movement that inspired the tiles and where we are today in this first of two parts.
The Arts and Crafts Movement in America sprang, as so many design ideas do, from an English-European philosophical revolt late in the Victorian Period. This rebellion decried the over-industrialization of society and the loss of all that was good and just in honest craftsmanship. The English textile designer, William Morris, became the de facto symbol of the movement. He is shown below.
Another significant influencer in the Arts and Crafts approach was the architect and designer C.F.A. Voysey who worked across a wide range of mediums. They included furniture, wallpaper, metal, fabric, carpet, tile, metals, ceramics, and graphics. Below is an example of his textile work which is very much in keeping with the concepts of the movement in general.
It is important to note that the Euro version of this school of design thought always held a distinct vision of a Utopian world. A society that embraced a purity of action and thought and sought to roll back to pre-capitalist “everyman” thinking. We point this out, because, to a very large degree, this social message did not migrate across “the pond” to America. In the next few days, we will post Version 2.0 of this story which will discuss more fully Arts and Crafts Ceramic Tiles in America.