Willow Basketmaking Workshop

It has been said that humans have an intuitive ability to weave a basket, just as a spider weaves its web or a bird makes a nest. The baskets I make are made using English willow, mainly sourced from the Somerset levels. I first ventured into basket making in 1985 by making rough hedgerow baskets as a hobby, then I obtained a placement with a Basket Maker in Somerset through the Rural Enterprise Scheme. My goal was, and remains, to keep the traditional basket making techniques alive and enable rural crafts to continue to provide an active place in the modern plastic age. I am continually amazed at the craftsmanship of old, and how they managed to achieve perfection in their work with such primitive tools and basic techniques. Country folk often had part of their garden set aside for growing willow to make baskets, as would farmers for making hurdles.