HANDMADE IN MOROCCO

May 2019

There are three main countryside areas for basket weaving; the Atlas Mountains near Marrakesh, in villages a couple of hours drive from Fez and the coastal region near Essaouria. Each area has a distinctive weaving style, with reed or palm leaves used to create the baskets.

The baskets made in the Atlas Mountains use dwarf palm plants which flourish naturally in the area, they are not cultivated, and only the young stalks are picked to use for weaving. The other palm baskets are made with leaves from sustainable doum palm. Both types of leaf are laid out on the ground to dry in the hot sun during the summer months. The dried leaves are woven into long strips which are then sewn together to make the basket - starting at the base centre. The rim has a slight dip in the weave where it is attached to the final round.  It takes 3-6 hours to weave each basket in the weavers’ home - the more complex and larger the style, the longer time required.  Water is sprinkled onto the leaves to make them more malleable which makes for a tigher weave.

If any embroidery, cotton lining/drawstring or sequin patterns are required, the baskets are taken to different areas where local seamstresses complete the necessary work.

The leather handles and trims are either goat or cow hide - the end product once the meat has been taken for food.  Strong twine is rubbed in bee’s wax to ensure smooth stitches can be made through the leather and palm or reed baskets.  The sewn handles are just as strong as rivet handles and have the added advantage they do not go rusty in the damp UK climate!

The leather work on our baskets is sewn on by a family of four sisters and a mother-in-law who all live in the village near Casablanca before shipping. The ladies work at home, enabling them to earn money while caring for their families

SELINA LAKE'S NATURAL LIVING STYLE BOOK

March 2019

Selina Lake's gorgeous new book, Natural Living Style, was published on March 12th and we were thrilled to discover we have been featured. Selina reveals how to create a beautiful and stylish home that is as natural, organic and sustainable as possible.

Congratulations to Michelle @mostlymother whose name was drawn as winner of our Medium French Basket and a copy of Natural Living Style competition.

You can get a copy of Selina Lake’s new book Natural Living Style for £14.99 (usually £19.99) with free UK P&P, head to rylandpeters.com and enter the code BASKETBASKET5 at checkout.

Photography by Rachel Whiting; Published by Ryland Peters & Small

BACKPACK ON FRONT COVER OF COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS MAGAZINE

May 2018

We are thrilled to have our Backpack Basket feature in Selina Lake's beautifully styled front cover of the May issue of Country Homes & Interiors magazine.

FEATURED IN DELICIOUS MAGAZINE

August 2017

Delighted to see our Small French Basket being used in the August 2017 issue of Delicious Magazine in The Essence of Summer article with recipes from Italian chef, Eleonora Galasso.

JOANNA LUMLEY'S TRAVEL STYLE SECRETS

July 2017

We are thrilled to have had our Wide Brim Raffia Hats feature in the Fashion article in Love Sunday on Joanna Lumley's Travel Style Secrets.  Read all about it here and have a look at the beautiful hats here.

FEATURED IN THE TIMES MAGAZINE - HOLIDAY BEACH BAGS

August 2016

We were delighted to get a mention in Hilary Rose's article, where she recommends our Large French Baskets and Giant Lined Baskets.

We usually put our clothes in our beach bags and then pack them in a suitcase with other items filling the gaps around them!  But then again, we do have some beautiful colourful holiday handbags and baskets that should be on display all the time...

FEATURES IN HOMES & GARDENS AND IDEAL HOME

January 2016

We are delighted to see our baskets feature in the following magazines - Homes & Gardens feature our Bolga baskets, Ideal Home feature our medium French baskets and Homes & Interiors Scotland feature the Gambibgo Pot baskets.

5p PLASTIC BAG CHARGE FOR ENGLAND

October 2015

England has finally caught up with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales by charging 5p per plastic bag from October 5th 2015.

Reasons to avoid using plastic bags:
- Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil, waterways and oceans, then entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.
- A plastic bag can take hundreds of years to break down in the environment.
- Globally it is estimaged between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are discarded every year.
- Sea creatures mistake plastic bags for food and die as unable to digest them, or get tangled up which can injure or kill.
- Around eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans each year, much of which is in bag form.

A trusty basket will last for years and then biodegrade at the end of its life. Yet another reason why we love them! Take a look at our recommended range of shopping baskets here.

KIRSTIE ALLSOPP VISITS BASKETBASKET AT THE HANDMADE FAIR

September 2015

We had a wonderful weekend at The Handmade Fair and were delighted to chat to Kirstie who popped by our stand a couple of times - another basket lover!  

She greatly admired the Ghanian baskets, appreciating the amount of work and skill that goes into weaving them.  One headed home with her plus a Moroccan basket and trays too.

It was lovely to meet up with a number of Fibre East visitors as well and we also fell in love with the wonderful beaded sculptures from www.boafricandesign.co.uk

An amazing three days of showcasing many talented crafters.