How Wicker Became Sexy

Really great to be quoted in How Wicker Became Sexy, The Times online article, (21st September), that focuses upon bespoke commissioning. The publicity surrounding the forthcoming film Wicker starring Olivia Coleman has placed willow and other natural fibres centre screen. With the subject matter having been thoroughly researched this results in the article conveying a good depth of understanding. I’m so pleased that my Kelmscott Creel has been featured. It’s an excellent article and a joy to be a part of!

For the full article head to https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/luxury/article/how-wicker-became-sexy-times-luxury-33p37lgxg

For your further reading I’ve included my original Q&A with journalist Louisa McKenzie below:

1. When someone approaches you with an idea for a bespoke piece, where does the process begin?

From experience I have found that having a good connection with the client from the very beginning of a bespoke commission is crucial to a successful outcome. In order to both fully understand the scope of the client’s proposal and to convey my ability and what can be achieved, clear communication is essential.

2. How do you translate a client’s idea or an architect’s drawing into something that actually works in wicker?

For any bespoke commission I always aim to find a balance between knowing my existing repertoire, building on over a decade of crafting experience, ability, knowledge and skill set; whilst also creating a challenge for myself.

I begin each bespoke commission by drawing designs, this enables me to understand the scale and consider the advantages of employing particular techniques, methods and initial choice of materials. However I want to get into the making as soon as possible, often first creating a prototype.

3. What decisions about the material can only really be made by someone who has spent years working with it?

I work predominately in willow, annually harvested and locally sourced from the commercial willow growers on the Somerset Levels. The type of basketry and bespoke commissions that I undertake require quantities of very uniform, very good quality rods. Even with this taken into consideration, each variety of willow and each harvest of that willow variety can vary in strength, form and flow. It’s these nuances of the material that keep basketmakers on their toes! It comes down to experience, not only the knowledge that I hold in my mind but also how I connect to the willow physically as I weave.

4. How much experimentation happens during a bespoke commission — do pieces ever evolve significantly while you’re making them?

I always find that it is when I am using the willow material that is available to me and getting a hands on feel for the commission, when creating prototypes that crucial ideas develop, detail and the subtleties expose themselves and my over a decade of experience in basketry really kicks in. I never not experiment! My belief is that experimentation, (in which the failures can be rather frustrating but as informative as the successes), contributes to innovation, to advancing my craft form. I apply this belief within not just to bespoke commissions but to all my work in which I handcraft woven pieces that marry heritage basket forms, techniques and skills with innovative ideas.

5. What is the most technically challenging bespoke piece you’ve made, and what did it demand of you as a maker?

In response to being last year’s Maker in Residence at Kelmscott Manor, (the home of William Morris and his family in Oxfordshire), I created a bespoke basket, now known as the Kelmscott Creel, that showcases the advanced and critically endangered technique of fine skein work willow basketry. (Long fine ribbon-like split willow lengths called skeins are woven around willow ribs and layered upon each other to form a basket). Morris loved to fish on the nearby Thames river and so I wanted to imagine a new bespoke creel into being, one that very much carries traditional techniques within a contemporary form. I did this to offer Morris joy and a thank you through time for what his immense vision and work has gifted me and numerous other craftspeople.

In order to achieve this bespoke piece, which is being exhibited at Kelmscott Manor until October ’26, I taught myself fine skein work basketry. The Kelmscott Creel took 3 attempts before the final piece, (which took 60 hours to make), emerged. Creating the Kelmscott Creel was an incredible challenge and very demanding, the success of which was determined by belief. I learnt a great deal about the depths of self belief, about holding a vision and striving to reach the technical ability to create this piece. Just as significant was the belief in me of others, the amazing people at Kelmscott Manor, who held my vision within theirs, who saw the potential I held within my craft form and poured their confidence into me. I believe that the Kelmscott Creel could only have happen through my being immersed in the Manor, by being so close to the Morris family, it was such a soul filled gift that I received!

6. In a world where almost anything can be manufactured quickly and precisely, what does commissioning something bespoke and hand-woven offer that industrial production can’t?

In this country, just over a century ago we did have tens of thousands of basketmakers, a whole industry who manufactured baskets both quickly and precisely. Due to the nature of the material, willow basketry can never and will never be made by a machine. Dramatic change has led to there now being a hundred or so of us basketmakers here in the UK who are challenged by and strive to making a living through our craft form. One that respects and responds to our immense craft heritage whilst forging a future in which we contribute to a crucial understanding of the fundamental human need to make and create with our hands. Bespoke commissions enable us basketmakers to experiment, become inspired, to explore our craft form and advance our knowledge and skill set, to be rejuvenated. For our clients this means not only a better quality bespoke piece and greater understanding of our craft, but the knowledge that their commission contributes to a wider picture, to hopefully creating a brighter future for us all.