How did William Morris respond to mass-produced goods during the Industrial Revolution?

William Morris responded to the mass-produced goods of the Industrial Revolution with profound disapproval, viewing them as "cheap and nasty" and representative of a decline in public taste, craftsmanship, and spiritual values. Deeply concerned by the factory system, he rejected these banal, commercially driven products in favor of high-quality, handcrafted items.123

To counter the effects of industrialization, Morris founded the Arts and Crafts movement, which sought to restore the beauty and integrity of decorative arts through a return to medieval craftsmanship. His firm, Morris and Company, produced meticulously crafted furniture, textiles, wallpaper, and books. Notably, he established the Kelmscott Press to revive the quality of book design, using traditional hand-printing methods to create works that functioned as art.132

Ultimately, Morris’s efforts succeeded in forcing a new appreciation for design upon the machine industry itself, as manufacturers began hiring artists to improve the aesthetic quality of their mass-produced goods.3