Originating around the 1880s the Arts and Crafts Movement was one of the most influential, profound and far-reaching design movements of modern times. Its leading architects, artists and craft-designers like Morris, Ashbee and Lutyens in the UK, Lloyd Wright and Stickley in the US, Hoffman and Saarinen in Austria were united in promoting the moral superiority of ‘honest’ design and natural materials in an industrial age.

With its division of labour the Industrial Revolution had devalued the work of the craftsman turning him into a mere cog on the wheel of machinery. The aim of the Arts and Crafts designers was therefore to re-establish a harmony between architect, designer and craftsman and to bring handcraftsmanship to the production of well-designed, affordable, everyday objects. This pioneering spirit of reform and the value it placed on the quality of materials and design, as well as life shaped the world we live in today. n — S.A.