A love for being in the outdoors from a young age and an early career in nature conservation gave me a connection with the landscape around me, and I was drawn to using wild materials to make simple baskets. Later, I became more focused on willow and became a full time basketmaker, growing willow, immersed in the growing and harvesting cycle. My baskets are functional, traditional and sturdy, underfoot log baskets, chunky frame baskets, backpacks and creels.
In 2020, I started experimenting again with materials growing wild near my home: bark, rush and hazel. During my experiments, split hazel baskets captured my attention, a material so abundant in the wooded Churnet Valley where I live. I have learnt from some wise teachers how to make whiskets, cockle baskets and berry baskets. I am now learning how to use other wood to make split wood baskets, felling oak, chestnut and ash trees to make strong Heritage Baskets.
My work is seasonal; I coppice hazel, willow and other trees in the winter and collect bark and rush in the summer. With each of my baskets, I can sometimes remember the very spot or date where I have collected it from and this is an important part of the process for me. Each piece of material is valuable, selected, cut by hand, carried back to my workshop, prepared and woven.’
Rachel Evans
Wheatcroftwillow
