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!

Lavender harvest and workshop update!

I just spent two wonderful days at Central-Europe's largest lake called Balaton; besides swimming in the refreshing water I went to pick lavender at a local organic lavender farm.
It was incredibly hot and the field was like a purple sea, busy with thousands of  bees, butterflies and all sorts of strange-looking flying insects buzzing away...this is how I imagine Provance must look like, altough I have never been there...

As for my basket making workshops, I am only running one beginner's course in the UK this summer; it will be held on 24th, August at the Foundry Wood in Leamington Spa.
Should you be interested, please let me know by sending an email!

A busy day at Foundry Wood!

We had a wonderful day yesterday at the Foundry Wood which is an urban community woodland in Leamington Spa. As part of the Woodland Fair, I held a few hours "willow wreath making" activity which was extremely popular amoung children and grown-ups as well :)
I met superb people at the event who, for over 18 months have been doing an amazing job turning this tiny piece of nature into a refreshing oasis.
I am planning to run two beginner basket making workshops in the Outdoor Classroom of the Foundry Wood this August (Sunday,11th, and Saturday, 24th).
Should you be interested, please let me know by popping me an email!

Another basket making workshop scheduled for the Northampton area!

As there has been a lot of interest in my workshops from the Northampton area I am now organizing a one day workshop which will be held in a gazebo on Woodbine Farm (CV23 8BA) on Sunday, 23rd, June.

 

As usual, the one day workshop is designed to guide total beginners step by step through each stage of the basket making process.

On this course you will learn how to weave a medium sized "rustic" vegetable basket with a handle.

Date: Sunday, 23rd, June (10 am- 5 pm)

On this course I am able to tutor 8 persons so please book your

place to make sure you don’t miss it!

Come and learn this beautiful ancient craft with me and go home with a

finished rustic basket and the knowledge to make many more! 

For further details and to book your place please contact Borbala at:

borbalahidvegi@gmail.com

Booking is on a first come first served basis.

Beware! Basketmaking is highly addictive!

This year's first basket making workshop scheduled

I am still in Hungary, but have been busy preparing my return to the UK.

The year's first basket making workshop will be held in the Oxford/Abingdon area and is scheduled for Sunday, 21st, April. Details of exact location coming soon.

As usual, the one day (approx. 7 hours) workshop is designed to guide total beginners step by step through each stage of the basket making process.

On this course you will learn how to weave a medium sized vegetable basket with a simple handle.

Price per person:  £49

(all materials, tools, step-by step handouts, plus tea and coffee included)

For further details and to book your place please contact Borbala at: borbalahidvegi@gmail.com

Booking is on a first come first served basis.

Beware! Basketmaking is highly addictive!

I am so proud!

I just received the nicest email from a student who has attended one of my workshops this summer.
I am so touched that I thought I'd share this with you:

"Dear Borbála,

'Beware! Basketmaking is highly addictive!' you said, and I agree, having just finished number 13 - see attached photos.

It doesn't seem long since it was all a mysterious art form, but your excellent workshop at EcoHouse Leicester in June made it clear and got me hooked - for which, many thanks.

And a picture of an impeccable oval basket he just finished:

 Isn't it amazing?

Autumn workshops!

I am still in Hungary, enjoying the last days of my holidays, but I have been busy organizing the autumn basket making workshops in the UK as well :)

Here are the dates and places for the courses I am planning; if there is an interest, I would hold more seasonal workshops focusing on Christmas decorations (wreath, willow Christmas-tree, etc).

Saturday, 10th, November, EYNSHAM, TOLKIEN ROOM (10 am- 4 pm)
Saturday, 24th, Noveber, EcoHouse, Leicester (10 am-4 pm) WILLOW CHRISTMAS DECORATION!

Should you be interested in any of the above workshops, please send me a note to borbalahidvegi@gmail.com

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.

Leicester workshop in the EcoHouse

At last I managed to organize my first non-Rugby workshop which will be held on Saturday, 16th, June in the EcoHouse, Leicester.
 

As usual, the one day workshop is designed to guide total beginners step by step through

each stage of the basket making process.

On this course you will learn how to weave a medium sized vegetable basket.

Date: Saturday, 16th, June (10 am- 4 pm)

Price per person:  £45

(all materials, tools and step-by step handouts included)

On this course I am able to tutor 6 persons so please book your

place to make sure you don’t miss it!

Come and learn this beautiful ancient craft with me and go home with a

finished rustic basket!

For further details and to book your place please contact Borbala at:

borbalahidvegi@gmail.com

or call: 07565231128

Booking is on a first come first served basis.

Beware! Basketmaking is highly addictive!

Feedback on the first UK workshop

So my first UK course was over on Saturday afternoon; I feel very fortunate that I could work with such great, enthusiastic people!

The time went by fast as we were weaving, and by the end of the day everybody finished a large organic basket with a handle :)

This is me, helping Jo, one of the students.

I received such nice comments that I can't help sharing them:

" I found it very enjoyable and “therapeutic”, the time flew! You worked so hard and kept us informed, telling us in detail what to do. It was great, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day, I learned a lot. It was good to be able to take something home to give to my wife."

"Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed your workshop and appreciated your hard work in helping us all achieve a basket to be proud of."

Such positive feedback made me start organizing the next workshop, which will be on the 12nd, May.

Details coming soon...