ABSTRACT
Charles Robert Ashbee was a British architect and designer and an important figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. He was instrumental in establishing the Guild of Handicraft and was a keen supporter of the workshop approach to design and making that embraced the socialist ideals of William Morris and the craft ethic of Ruskin. For Ashbee, the workshop was the preferred place of production in comparison to either the studio or the factory. The workshop, by contrast, was a place of integration in all respects: A place of social solidarity and unity, and the production of objects and wares that were necessary for life. A historical study of art forms is perhaps one of the most fascinating things possible, and would be calculated to throw much light on decorative art from the workshop point of view. Ashbee's attitude is evident in the text which compares and contrasts the studio and the workshop.
