I love baskets, little, large and in-between.

Multi purpose and hand crafted from natural materials, for me baskets represent the ethos of natural living.

Basket Care

Some of my baskets are very old but remain in perfect condition.  I put this down to moisture.  Age dries the materials making them brittle, resulting in splitting and breaking of the canes.  My solution for this is to wash them regularly with slightly pressurised water to remove any debris caught in the weave and occasionally let them stand outside in soft rain  to allow the moisture to penetrate the canes thus preventing the very brittleness that will cause them to split and break.

Here's a lightweight basket that I often take with me when foraging, I think it may have been originally made for either fowlers or fishermen.  I've smeared Vaseline on the metal pieces to protect them from the water and just let it sit in the soft rain for several days.

Basket Making and Cane Uses

Woven canes are lightweight and can be very strong, they've been used through the ages for every conceivable purpose from building (wattle & daub) to carrying, storing, fencing, furniture and decoration.

Grow Hazel and Willow

Ireland's weather is ideal for the growing of hazel and willow used in basket making, unfortunately we don't utilise it as we should by growing crops best suited to our climate.