By tending to willow(Salix ssp.) and practicing the functional art of basketry, old ancestral threads are waking up. I like the idea that my ancestors, both recent and very old, had a relationship with some of these same willow species. Some of them bent sticks just like me.

David and I started growing our own willow patch two winters ago and our plot includes about 35 basketry willow varieties, spanning about 13 species total. Many of them are types our ancestors would have woven into baskets in Europe. We are currently raising a modest 1500 coppiced or pollarded plants and will expand this coming Winter to just over 2000. This may sound like a lot of willow, but it actually takes 1000 rods around 6-8’ to make just one full sized willow casket. Our plants may produce around 20 rods per plant at peak maturity, and they will all be various lengths and diameters. So it’s a great start! We’re also developing relationships with some local wild willow varieties that may also work for basketry.

Our skills grow as our willow grows. When we first started, it was hard to find enough basket-quality willow with which to practice. There were not many growers here, and the rods people were selling could be as much as $15/lb. We have access to local, wild willows, but they were not all suitable for basket-making or could not be used for all parts of a basket. We are excited for our first substantial harvest from our own plot this year and look forward to a the many hours we’ll get to weave away in our studio.

There is an expanding willow culture here in the PNW and we’re seeing more folks raising plants at home, tending to it in the wild, and relating to it more intimately. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more opportunities to work with it yourself or purchase finished pieces in the coming years, depending on how we and they fair in our shifting climate. We will be offering opportunities to learn and purchase willow projects as we grow our skills.