Willow Fishing Creel

Harrison’s Brown & Old French willow varieties. Leather trimmings with brass buckle. Dimensions:

Willow fishing creel for Kelmscott Manor, once the home of designer, craftsman, environmentalist and revolutionary socialist William Morris & his family.

Having explored the form for a few years, Sarah had the opportunity to create her ultimate whole willow fishing creel. This basket will be used to collect the feedback forms from visitors at the manor. Shaped to fit on the hip, created using Harrison’s Brown willow and completed with a curvy slot in the lid, (so that the fish shaped feedback forms will slip into the basket like a fish!). William Morris’s most famous quote is "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". Sarah’s hope is that this fishing creel being used today for holding the manor’s feedback forms, (or indeed if it had been used 150 years ago by Morris himself, bringing home his catch from the nearby Thames), is found to be both useful and beautiful.

As Maker in Residence at Kelmscott Manor 2025 it was a pleasure for Sarah to study a range of heritage baskets, exploring traditional techniques and methods, then interpret and design new baskets specific to the manor’s needs. Price on application. 2026.
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