CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

November 2021

No Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals here, just a chance to win TWO baskets - giving is as much fun as receiving!

Enter via our website here and earn an extra entry if you follow us on Instagram here.

This will end at 6pm on Tuesday 30th November and the winner will be contacted by us on Wednesday 1st December.  Good luck!

NEW AUTUMN STOCK

September 2021

Newly arrived from Morocco:

Handwoven wool and straw plates that will look goreous hanging from a wall or for display on a table.

Also for festive decorations, handmade wooden stars - a set of 4 little ones or a bigger star which can be decorated with fairy lights.

NEW - WOVEN TRAYS

June 2021

Newly arrived from Morocco - a range of handmade woven trays. These will look great as for storage around the home or office, or filled with treats as a hamper!

STILL SAFELY POSTING

March 2021

We are still able to safely send out parcels, as the picking and packing is completed by us, not via a third party warehouse. We also ensure a safe distance is maintained for our couriers when they collect.

Thank you for your support in these challenging times.

Stay safe and keep well.

ETHICAL POLICY

January 2020

We follow the principles of fair trade with all our artisans, please read more about us and our ethical policy here.

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 in southern Morocco. 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 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

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.