William Morris

If we could pluck a figure from history to have as Arthur & Henry's patron saint, a figure to epitomise our values, a person to look to for guidance, wisdom and inspiration it would be this man - William Morris. An incredible man, an artist, designer, craftsman and entrepreneur; a campaigner on social issues and all round good egg.  (And check out that beard.)

“Nothing should be made by man's labour which is not worth making, or which must be made by labour degrading to the makers.”

It's not hard to see why he is something of a hero to us, and then there are the designs....bliss...

So imagine our delight when we discovered that the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, London (Morris' family home) not only has a fantastic Morris collection but is also engaging with the issues Morris espoused, including issues around labour and exploitation in the production of textiles.

We've taken two Morris prints (more on the history of these prints and why we chose them later) and put them on fine Indian organic cotton, grown by small farmers, woven by machine, sewn by our amazing, skilled tailors in Bangalore.  We think Morris would approve.

10% of the sale of each shirt goes to the William Morris Gallery for their exhibition and education work.