From a little vintage caravan at the end of my garden, in Upper Moutere, New Zealand I make willow baskets in a variety of styles and shapes. Shopping baskets, log baskets, milk bottle carriers, plant baskets and egg baskets all count among my creations—no two of which are ever exactly the same, (production line making isn’t really my thing). The caravan is filled to the brim with various weaving materials and dried basketry willow, along with a collection of tools and handy gadgets that usually come into play when I’m working on more contemporary, arty structures.

I started making willow baskets around 2008 after attending a basket course with Peter Greer in Golden Bay. Peter was selling baskets at The Sarau Festival and was thinking about offering classes. I had been wanting to make baskets but wasn’t sure how to start or where to get willow from, so I was ecstatic to have finally found someone who could teach me. After the first course, I went down to the Appleby River and collected crack willow (not the best for basket making) and made my first basket and added a lid as well.

It takes many hours to make a basket and I can get attached to some and keep them for a while until I’m ready to part with them. Much of my knowledge has come from reading, watching You Tube videos and experimenting—and I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been over the Takaka Hill to Peter’s courses, I’m incredibly lucky to have such generous mentor and I now have the joy of assisting him with his classes when numbers call for it.

Willow basket tutors are few and far between here in New Zealand. In 2018 I was fortunate to spend a couple of days learning the finer points of square basketry with Eddie Glew a second-generation basket maker in Staffordshire, England

I’m firmly addicted to willow and I spend the majority of my time bending bundles of cultivated sustainable willow sticks into baskets. I love the smell, and the sound it makes when I’m weaving. I love that it takes strength to construct a basket and that I can grow the materials myself. I grow 6 varieties that have traditionally been cultivated for basket making, supplemented by willow from Peter Greers withy.

I’ve experimented with many different fibres and types of basket making, and enjoy the creative process and the problem solving that comes with exploring materials that are new to me. When time allows, I like to dive into the possibilities and that’s where my contemporary works evolve.

I’m part of a local collective, Moutere Artisans. The artisans work together to celebrate life in what we think is one of the most picturesque villages in the country. We throw open our doors twice a year to the public and share what goes on in the workshops, winieries and food producers of local artisans. It’s a day I look forward to, a chance to share what it is that I do and to make connections with those who share my love of baskets.

I enjoy sharing what I have learned, and it is an absolute pleasure to have several talented creators emerge from workshops I’ve run.

The real joy of basketry lies in making something that’s both decorative and practical. It’s a good feeling having made a useful item from something that has sprung up from the earth, and when it’s finally had its day, it can go back to where it’s come from.