May Morris (1862-1938) was the younger of the two daughters of William and Jane Morris (née Burden). Both May and her older sister Jenny were accomplished at embroidery, learning from their mother and aunt, Bessie Burden. May attended the South Kensington School of Design and later taught embroidery at the Central School of Arts & Crafts in London and at Birmingham's Municipal School of Art. Starting in 1885 at the age of 23, May took over the management of the embroidery department for Morris & Co. and supervised the design and production of embroidered altar cloths, portières, fire screens, bed covers, and more. She was also the artist of choice to execute many of her father's designs due to her highly tuned embroidery skills.
An early and passionate advocate for Socialism, May was known as a kind employer, concerned with the welfare of the staff at Morris & Co., and she used her position to advocate for the inclusion of women in the Arts ab Crafts movement. She hired several and trained a number of female embroiderers for Morris & Co. and paid them a good salary for female craftsmen at the time (see L. Parry, William Morris Textiles, New York, 1994, pp. 32-33. Additionally, she contributed to several books and publications on needlework, and published her own book, Decorative Needlework, in 1893. Later in her life she became the first President of the Women's Guild of Art in 1907.
Robert Barr Smith came from Scotland to Australia in 1854, and worked for the mercantile company, Elder & Co. In 1856 he married Joanna Elder, and in 1883 become the head of the company, by that time known as Elder Smith and Co. The Barr Smiths had three homes in Australia, the first of which was Torrens Park in Adelaide, acquired in 1874. In the 1890s the Barr Smiths built a second home in the surrounding hillsides called Auchendarroch, and in 1904 the family moved from Torrens Park to Birksgate. Although it is not known exactly how the Barr Smiths were introduced to William Morris and his family, it is thought that the Barr Smith's daughter, Mabel, was a London schoolmate and close friend of May. All of the Barr Smiths' homes were decorated with Morris & Co. furniture and textiles acquired from the Oxford Street store. The family was one of Morris & Co.'s greatest patrons and their Adelaide homes are numbered amongst the most significant interiors furnished by Morris & Co.