A Rope Coiling We Must Go

A week on Rope Coils…. Continuing to work on baskets for Christmas orders and having a couple of Rope Coils on order I decided to spend the rest of the week working on others for stock. Still love making this robust, chunky, arty style of basket. Not quite sure where the technique itself originates. The […]

Covent Garden Sieves

Traditional Fruit and Vegetable Baskets in White Willow Spent a couple of days making Covent Garden Sieves this week.  This traditional British basket was taught to me back in 1986 by my Master Terry Bensley who made them along with many other traditional baskets all of his working life.  They were used on Covent Garden […]

Willows, willows, lovely willows

  Very pleased with these large garden baskets which I made last week, three for the U.S and three for stock (two sold already). I used 5 different willows in them, Petite Grisette, Nigricians, Faucille, Belge Rouge and Dickie Meadows. The willows were all at their best and worked perfectly, despite being harder to make […]

Issigeac Foire Paniers Vannerie

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 […]

From The Dordogne To California

  Our second order for Cindy Daniel from Shed, Healdsburg, California. Cindy Daniel and Doug Lipton have a wonderful array of ethically sourced artisan products for sale from their website www.healdsburgshed.com From kitchen to garden, home ware to foraging there is something for everyone.The website is beautifully put together, very informative and with mouth watering […]

Meet the Maker Basket Makers Association Newsletter

Very pleased to be chosen by the Basket Makers Association for their latest newsletter in the Meet the Maker feature.  As a taster below are the first and last questions.  The newsletter has been revamped of late and has some interesting new features for basket makers, chair re-seaters and any one interested in crafts. If […]

Willow Basket Making Courses and Basket Market, Bouxurulles. Vosges.

Spent a productive 4 days in Bouxurulles, Vosges, France. Great to meet up with some old basketmaking friends and make some new contacts with students. Taught an Asparagus basket on day one using the English stake up method and ‘blunt, square corners’. Eight very capable French students. Vegetable gatherer on day two with the English […]