Willow Bread or Storage Basket – Handmade in Cornwall 561

Description

This simple basket – woven from a combination of buff willow from Somerset and home-grown Flanders Red willow – has a myriad of uses. I call it a “bits and bobs” basket – keys and bits in the hallway, filled with beautiful soaps in the bathroom, crafting bits in your workshop, or a small bread basket on your kitchen table. Basketry, considered to be one of the oldest crafts in the world, pre-dating pottery, is found in one form or another in almost every country in the world using whatever local materials are available. Baskets were essential for storing and transporting things and in fishing and agricultural – such as fish traps, crab pots and harvesting baskets. Every village or district would have had its own basketmaker – the last few surviving traditional crab-pot makers are hanging on to an ancient but declining skill. Even in Roman times, Britain was renowned for having the best basketmakers and the Somerset levels were equally renowned as growing the best quality willow. Constantly monitored by the Heritage Crafts Association, The Basketmakers’ Association and The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers, preserving skills, patterns and techniques is an ongoing project. Basketry is a beautiful traditional craft – completely absorbing – addictive as my students would say. I love every aspect of it and am constantly challenged by new designs and patterns. So much can be created from a simple stick of willow. 23 x 12 cms