Between 1850 and 1918 there were two movements both in architecture and design who contributed greatly to different methods and styles in their work. These groups were Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. While Arts and Crafts were primarily based in England, Art Nouveau had broadened its horizons to many other countries, including Belgium, Scotland and even the United States. The Arts and Crafts movement who reacted against the new modern ways of designing in the 1800s and decided to reflect back to more traditional forms of both style and methods of craftsmanship in creating furniture and other household goods, including wallpapers and even tapestries.
Arts and Crafts were primarily a reaction against the industrial designers like Michael Thonet (1796-1871) a German designer and cabinet maker as well as Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) and Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) a Scottish designer and theorist. It was a reaction against industrial design in general because Arts and Crafts was opposed to the machine and its practitioners wanted to revert back to old fashioned ways, like hand carved wood and painted furniture. They believed in simple furniture made from good quality work- almost like the work of the Shaker group who were an anonymous religious group known for their simple ways of living and furniture design, the main difference between Shaker and Arts and Crafts was that Arts and Crafts – in traditional Victorian style, liked to use decoration-. Art Nouveau was influenced by the Arts and Crafts handiwork and craftsmanship and it is something both groups share in common however Art Nouveau did not neglect using the machines available to them to help aid their creations.
Arts and Crafts did not believe in using the machine and this was heavily instilled upon the movements leader, William Morris (1834-1896) a socialist and textile designer who throughout his life had great success in most creative