Tuesday 24 March 2015

Happy Birthday William Morris!

Today is the great man's birthday. But last Saturday, a group of 60 or so WMSC members gathered at University College at the U of T on Saturday to celebrate Morris's birthday as we do every year. We alternate full-day symposiums and lectures, and this year the lecture was titled Architectural Preservation in Upper Canada: A Case Study. Brian Blackstock talked us through the history of his beautiful old mill in Prince Edward County. In the second picture you see Brian with his friend Don McLean who was also part of the presentation. They were both highly engaging and informative. Several members who attended also had the opportunity to visit Brian's mill last fall during a weekend trip to the county, among other lovely spots (including a very popular cidery). Afterwards we gathered in Croft Chapter House and toasted Morris with cake (and someone was coincidentally wearing a scarf with the same pattern, Compton) and lots of great chat.

See you all at our next event in April!






Saturday 21 March 2015

Let's Raise a Slice!

This year we went with "Compton," another densely designed foligage pattern, this time designed by the remarkable John Henry Dearle for Morris & Co. the year of Morris's death in 1896.

Check back soon for more photographs of the day's events!

Celebrating... and Looking Ahead

We're looking forward to seeing members and their guests at today's Birthday Lecture by Brian Blackstock: Architectural Preservation in Upper Canada: a case study. Afterwards we'll toast Morris and get a slice of this year's Morris-inspired birthday cake.

Keep checking back as future events are being finalized including talks on the history of Craft Ontario, Morris and radicalism, a year in the life of Morris, News from Nowhere, a picnic/book club, a fall weekend tour, a cemetary ramble and the Yuletide dinner. Keep coming back to check for details and/or follows us on Twitter and Facebook!