Great day at this renowned and very well attended basketry festival in the Perigord Poupre. Issigeac is a bastide town in the Dordogne and hosts the Foire Paniers Vannerie every year on the third Sunday of July. We have attended every year since living in France and this year there were around 40 basketmakers from all over France. Lots of demonstrations and many makers demonstrating the Perigourdin/Bouyricou which has strong associations with this region.

We had a successful day both selling and on a personal level, bumping into some old friends, Paddy and Ursula,  from our U.K. craft circuit days. Also nice to meet up with our Japanese client, Asako who came to the festival and then on to our house to stay. Asako wanted to gain a better understanding of our working methods, see our workshop and willow bed and pass on to her experiences to her customers in Tokyo.

Issigeac is well worth a visit in it’s own right with beautiful medieval buildings and a bustling Sunday market which runs alongside the Basketry festival. The only down side of the market being the imported basket stand which somehow seemed to have prime position outside the Tourist Office which is situated in the Bishops Palace, seemed a little incongruous to have baskets from China for sale at 5 euros alongside all the beautiful traditional French work.

There is a very informative exhibition in the Bishops Palace with a small display and lots of information on the Bouyricou.

  willow lady