English jewelry designer Charles Ashbee
Born in Isleworth, on 17 May 1863 Charles Robert Ashbee was a man of immense talents and energy and a defining figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement. Ashbee founded his Guild and School of Handicraft in the East End of London in 1888. The Guild of Handicraft specialized in metalworking, decorative painting, leather work, enameling, jewelry, and furniture. In addition to his talent as a jewelry designer, he was an architect and author of several books. By the way, Charles Ashbee was gay. But it was a time when homosexuality was illegal, so he married Janet Forbes. And they had four children: Mary, Helen, Prue and Felicity. He died in Sevenoaks, Kent, on May 23, 1942.