Gordon Russell Design Museum
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Celebrating the life and work of renowned furniture designer Gordon Russell, this museum offers visitors the opportunity to explore elements of 20th-century design from Arts and Crafts to post-modernism.
Schooled in the Arts and Crafts tradition of the Cotswolds, Gordon Russell (1892-1980) believed that the tradition of British cabinet making by hand could be fused with the possibilities of the machine, making good design accessible to all. His efforts to democratise design – ‘to make decent furniture for ordinary people’ – led to his becoming director of the Council of Industrial Design (now the Design Council), and a lasting influence on British industry, design and education.
The workshops his company occupied in the village of Broadway now house a museum dedicated to his achievements as a furniture designer, maker, calligrapher, entrepreneur, educator and advocate of good design as something that can have a positive impact on people’s lives.
The permanent displays span a rich period of 20th-century design, and are accompanied by a changing programme of exhibitions and events. Visitors can find work by contemporary designer-makers in the museum shop, and speak to the museum’s volunteers, many of whom have a background in design and manufacture and welcome questions from other designers and makers.
