I have been making baskets since 1985. My interest was sparked by seeing a basket maker at a market in North Norfolk. I was searching for a change of direction and looking for a profession, which I hoped would give me more freedom and, after five years on the oil rigs, one which I also hoped would have less of an impact on the environment.

I sought and was awarded a grant by the Rural Development Commission to study traditional basketmaking skills under Master Basket Maker Terry Bensley. As Terry’s apprentice I was taught a full range of East Anglian fishing, agricultural, domestic and Trade’s basket ware. I sold my early baskets at local fairs and to retailers and by 1989 was attending some 35-40 shows a year, from small County Fairs to the largest Agricultural Shows in the country.

In 1997 I attended my first Fete de la Vannerie in Vallabregues France. From here I developed an interest in French and Spanish styles, exchanging ideas with basket makers from all over Europe and utilising these techniques to add to our range.

Also in 1997 I planted my first willow bed. This side of our business has grown and we now cultivate around thirty varieties of willow on three beds here in Norfolk. The growing of our own willow enables us to see the whole process of basket making through from start to finish. We grow varieties which are not easily available to buy, colours ranging from yellows, browns, reds to purples.

My teaching experience started around 1989. I ran a few adult education classes and while I enjoyed the process of teaching I was frustrated with the two hour time limit of the classes. In 1997 I organised ten weekend courses in Norfolk teaching traditional English Willow Baskets and continue to run a full programme of courses every year. Both Ruth and I are active members of The Basket Maker’s Association and in 1999 they approached me to run an advanced willow course at their Summer School in Woodrow, Bucks and I have since taught at the Spring/Summer schools in Sparsholt and York.

My weekend courses attract people from all over the country and further afield, one student coming from Canada, a contact which led to four month long teaching trips to Canada and the USA.
I now teach one-to-one vocational courses in our workshop and several people from these one-to-one courses have gone on to make basket making their profession. The majority of the baskets we still produce today are traditional functional baskets however over the last few years I have developed an interest in contemporary asymmetrical design and now make many baskets with this more “artistic twist”

My search in those early days for a more authentic, autonomous lifestyle has been aptly realised in the profession of basketmaking – one which 26 years on I still cherish.