As I promised...

Here is another contemporary basket I've been working on lately!
The small basket is made of brown and buff willow and it can be used to store wooden spoons or other kitchen utensils; the handle is rather "contemporary"...it is made of a thick willow stick I found on the way home :) I already sold this piece, but will probably make more; I kinda enjoy making small items these days!

A small oval basket for the environmentally conscious!

Why is it ideal for the eco-friendly user?
Well, due to it's reasonable size (approx. 15 cm X 38 cm) you won't be throwing any unnecessary items into it...only what you really need :)
The oval shaped "rustic" looking basket was made of buff and brown willow; you definitely won't mistake it for someone else's basket, I guarantee :)

Should you be interested in making your own rustic basket, I am running workshops in the Leamington Spa and Oxford area this autumn. To book your place and find out more about my one day courses, please send me an email!

EcoHouse follow up

So my first (but hopefully not last) workshop at the EcoHouse in Leicester was over yesterday afternoon.
I felt lucky again to have such enthusiastic, good humoured people attending the workshop; everybody went home with a finished, medium sized wicker basket and the basic knowledge to be able to start making a second one!
The EcoHouse is an amazing place with lots of interesting activities going on; it is definitely worth a visit if you live in the area and are interested in organic gardening, recycling and other green activities!
I am definitely planning to have a second workshop here, and next time we might be able to work in the garden if the weather is nice.
Although we used mainly grown buff willow on the course, I made sure we had some colorful green willow and red dogwood to make the baskets a bit more colorful; this is Monica, preparing the dogwood sticks for weaving. The best time to harvest your own material is between late November and early March, but you can still collect dogwood in the summer if you don't mind getting rid of the leaves.