Pretty special day yesterday, I taught what might be my one and only bowl turning course of the year! I had five wonderful students, all complete beginners and they all absolutely smashed it 👌🏻 and fun fact they happened to ALL be swing dancers 🕺🏻💃
Thanks to @geoffhannis for the lovely space as always. I’ll be back very soon teaching some basketry workshops!
Even though my wok has moved more towards basketry in the last few years, I still absolutely love teaching bowl turning and it always reminds me how brilliant, challenging and rewarding this craft is 💚
A very VERY special basket…When I heard that my brother @arthur_hamer and my future sister-in-law @ginnyren were expecting a little one, I knew I wanted to make them a Moses basket 🧺 of course, I had to! My future niece or nephew must have the finest basket in all the land to sleep in!
I’ve been in a bit of a creative rut lately and digging into a challenging project like this was exactly what I needed. It’s been a good challenge, it’s pushed my skills, and I am so pleased with how it turned out.
Sometimes a basket just works…and I think all the love I was pouring into it while I was weaving, thinking of what an exciting time is ahead, and how much I’m going to adore that little kid, all of that helped, and the basket gods were on my side. 🥹😭🥰 ok gonna go have a weep now!
Big shout out to @blithfieldwillow for his very informative instructions, thank you!
March Basket Club!
Kicking off the 2026 baskets clubs with a banger…these three sweeties made these three sweet little baskets, all complete beginners, and all absolutely smashed it! I was so impressed, especially those handles!
Thanks gals, it was such a fun few weeks 🥹🥰
If you are interested in joining a future basket club, sign up to my mailing list to hear first, when the next set of dates go live on my website…
Excited to announce we will be building an artisan garden this year at RHS Badminton.
Watch this space for more updates.
#rhsbadminton #rhs #artisangarden #showgarden #splithazelbasketry
Split Hazel Basketry
Now that spring has sprung and the air is warming up, my teaching year has officially started and I am looking forward to what’s to come this year…
I thought I would let you know that I have a few spaces left on my one day SPLIT HAZEL COURSE on the 18th April, at the Tree to Treen (@geoffhannis ) workshop based at Grow Wilder, in Bristol…check out Geoff’s website for more details!
Photos by the amazing @jasminecorbettphoto
First big make of 2026…a lovely log basket commission for ma dude @daryl_haines 🤘🏻🍂 it was so fun to weave really large again…great to get the underfoot base practice in and cranking big boy handles is always a fun challenge. I think I work best at this scale, maybe it’s because everything else in my life is very small…she must weave huge!
Swipe across to see a)me trying to fit inside the basket and b)Daryl trying to…including a really lovely live customer review 💚🤘🏻 always nice to hear people’s genuine reactions to something I’ve made!
Get in touch if you too are after a big sexy new log basket 🪵🧺
As some of you may know, last year I was selected as part of the @kingsfoundation 35 under 35. Over the year we have attended many wonderful events but this week probably took the biscuit for being the most surreal night of my life…
We were invited to the premier of ‘Finding Harmony. A King’s Vision’ held at Windsor Castle. The film, made by Amazon in partnership with the King’s Foundation, documents and celebrates his majesty’s ethos of Harmony. Encouraging us to see ourselves as part of nature, not apart from it. The film inspires us to readdress our relationship with the environment and nature for the good for people, places and the planet.
It was so special to be able to share this mad experience with the rest of the group and I felt very proud and grateful to be there amongst such an inspiring group (and quite a few prettyyyy big names…😳)
It was especially fun to be there with my main gal @jorancedesign and celeb spot 😆 it was the closest this wood chip covered woman is going to get to a red carpet! Coming back to the tiny house again and having to chop logs for my fire was a pretty big crash back to reality…
I turned 32 this week 💚
I can say hand on heart I’ve had one of the best birthdays in a long time. An absolutely magical few days filled with so much love, laughter, joy, amazing food, amazing people, cosiness, adoration and the usual tears.
I crammed as many tables and chairs as I could into my workshop, spent an entire day deshelling prawns, making saffron aioli and cooking the most elaborate fish soup, covered the tables in velvet clothes and candles and hops from the garden. I fed all of my favorite people out of wooden bowls and ate cardamom cake and tiramisu and ginger biscuits with blue cheese and figs. It was an evening filled with my favourite things and my favourite people, in my favourite space.
It also doubled as a workshop warming and I can safely say that now, that space feels so so warm. It’s ready, and I am ready for what this next year will bring.
Thank you for all being here to see it unfold.
My absolute soul mate @leni_inks was there by my side for every moment of celebration and joy and of course, having a best friend who’s also an incredible tattoo artist, some spontaneous birthday tattoos also happened…
Please enjoy the ramblings of a very tired basket maker! Basket club over and out, and we really ended on a banger!
I’m clocking off for 2025 now, but wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that I’ve worked with this year, what a time it’s been! Love you all so much, SEE YA 👋🏻
I had the almighty pleasure this weekend to welcome the whole Brett family (@maisieflorabrett@blythejessie@payhemburypapers and Rob!) to my workshop for a very special, very one off rush hat making course! I only learnt to make these gorgeous hats this summer with the rush queen herself @rosiefarey but when one of my best pals asked if I would teach her whole gorgeous family to make them, I couldn’t say no! Extra special as their ancestors were straw hat makers 👒
Thanks to Rosie’s advice and excellent tuition I managed to pass on the knowledge to this wonderful lot. It was a very sweet, sunny, cold weekend, where we enjoyed the warmth of the fire and great conversation while we wove away our hats. They are all ready for summer now….whenever that might come again.
(I managed to find the most bucolic, English summer song ever….rather fitting for these hats I’d say!)
My October basket club…each time I host one of my three week basket clubs, I am reminded of how special it is to gather together and weave baskets, make new friends, and surround yourself with people who are as passionately crazy about something as you are.
This month, I welcomed these three unbelievable women into my space…they didn’t know each other, but they all turned up with the enthusiasm, openness, joy and vulnerability of dear old friends, and they came with a trust in me to guide them through the process of weaving a basket. We spent three beautiful sessions together over three weeks and I couldn’t be prouder of what they achieved.
Sometimes a workshop stays in a special place in your heart and this one really takes the biscuit for me, thank you, you three beautiful, hilarious women. @margottudor@ruth_bartleet@sophiecarter19
I forgot to take any footage of the first session but last night was the final session, we had mulled apple juice heated on the stove and Sophie even bought me flowers 😭🥰💚
