Wicker Basket - Steps to making a Morrow's Basket-

     Marlene Schedules the shows    This Board...                       is anded, cut to width and cut to length.  

     This Board....         is sanded, cut  to width, cut to length, and cornered.     The trim is put around the top and bottom

                  Theframe is woven.                       The color is woven on.               The trim is put around the top and bottom

Some of the Baskets get strong leather handles                                Some ofthe baskets get a stong oak handle. 

Shadow makes sure everyone is working hard.                Curt makes sure we have enough baskets to pack

 Marlene and Brian pack the truck for a craft show.

History of Basket Making

This article is in no way a complete history of Basket Making, but after doing a little research in the library and on line, I found some interesting observations I’d like to share with you.

Basket Making is one of the oldest crafts in history.  Early humans used limbs, leaves, and vines woven together to carry things like nuts & berries, fish & game, rice & grains.   Archaeology has shown that basket weaving has been around for thousands of years, possibly even pre-dating pottery.  In the Middle East fragments of pottery have been found that reveal that the clay pot was formed around the basket as the outlines of the basket are imbedded in the clay of the pot.  From this simple start, different cultures world-wide developed different styles of baskets and techniques for making baskets though the methods used to produce the baskets have varied little.

The Bible is full of references to baskets.  Just think back to the story of Moses in the Old Testament.  Throughout time, many hundreds of styles and uses for baskets developed world-wide.  The styles were varied because baskets were made of woods and fibers available in their area.  Unlike today, there was no way to ship materials from one part of the world to another for the making of baskets.  Yet, as we look at baskets world-wide we see the blend of styles used to make baskets.  This can be traced back to the explorers who would travel world-wide and bring back treasures from their adventures. 

Native Americans and colonists discovered that basketry allowed them to take best advantage of natural resources available to them in the form of reeds, grass, straw, pine needles, roots, vines, corn shucks and splints of willow, walnut, hickory, oak and ash with a minimum of tools, hardware and processed material supplies not so abundant.

Basket makers developed different styles of baskets based on the needs of their local markets.  Fishing communities had different needs for baskets than did the rural grain markets.  Although very labor-intensive, basket making required only a few tools, and easily adapted to materials found locally.

Baskets are durable, long lasting containers that could be repaired and very pleasant to look at.  Today they have been replaced by plastic, metal, and cardboard boxes.  Baskets are environmentally friendly, eventually rotting out, they do not harm the environment.  Many baskets today are mass produced on molds for uniformity of shape and size in Asia and India, unlike our baskets which require great skill and allows for individual pieces to be created. 

Baskets in earlier times were used to carry and store materials.  Baskets are used today for the same reason but also they are decorative.  They are used in offices to hold files, and in homes to hold newspapers, toiletries, snacks, candles, flowers, napkins, CD’s, paper plates, pencils, cleaning supplies and so much more.  In early times everyone carried baskets to the market shopping; today we use our baskets to carry picnic lunches and desserts or casseroles to church socials and family reunions.  Baskets are a part of our every day life, our heritage and our future.  Baskets are decorative and their uses are infinite.

USES FOR BASKETS

We have all used baskets in the home and office but were you a where of these uses?

In the fishing industry baskets are made for lobsters and crab pots, large conical salmon traps, in England there are bottle shaped basket traps used to catch eels.

In farming we are all familiar with the peach baskets.  Other uses have included and still are used in many parts of the world as cattle feeders, sack fillers (as a funnel), vegetable and fruit pickers and hampers for harvesting crops.  Baskets are used as animal muzzles, traps, and even bird cages.  Been to a farmers market lately?  Look at how the farmers use baskets to present their produce.

In industry baskets are used to keep parts separated, hold mail, laundry, isn’t shopping carts just baskets on wheels?

Did you know that in 1875 there was a movement in England to promote burial in basketwork coffins?  They were still available into the early 1930’s.  In World War II Basket Makers were a “reserved occupation” in England, meaning they could not be called up to fight but made baskets for the war effort instead.(from Working Woodlands Trust, 19-Sept, 2003)

Basket Making Today

Throughout the 20^th Century basket makers have had an ever increasingly difficult time surviving.  In an economy in which time has much value and quality very little, there is no place for a durable product that is extremely labor intensive.  In addition, the use of wicker has still been viable but the cheapness of foreign labor has led to extensive importation of baskets.

Thank you for your time, hope you enjoyed the information we put together for you.  We found these facts interesting and we hope you did the same.