Answers to questions I’m asked time and time again
More or less regularly, I’m asked the same questions about my basket-making, which I’d like to answer here.
No, I do not have a shop. I only offer my wickerwork for sale at markets. Rather rarely and only by prior arrangement is it possible to buy a basket straight from the bus.
As I do not have a shop or a salesroom, I do not have opening hours. I sell my wickerwork exclusively at the markets I visit.
The repair of baskets or chair wickerwork is only possible by prior appointment.
The demand for card payment in the now many years of my sideline business has been so low that I only offer cash payment.
As a matter of principle, I do not send any goods or commissioned works. I also do not return packaging sent to me.
If you are now wondering why, I would like to tell you that the packaging law and the associated compulsory registration for the recycling of the packaging, the filling material and the parcel tape at the recipient’s premises mean that the administrative effort is in no way worthwhile for me.
Since there is also no shortfall in quantity, the compulsory membership in the recycling system would therefore be due for the first box sent.
Even packaging sent with e.g. seating surfaces would have to be subsequently registered and licensed as an entrepreneur, unless it could be proven that it was already licensed.
All my market dates are listed in the calendar. The respective events are also listed on my facebook page.
These are usually the farmers’ markets in Bad Salzhausen from March to October and some other markets in the region.
My standard answer to this is always: Until she is ready.
As a sole trader, I can only do one part of my job at a time. If willows are soaked, they also have to be processed quickly, otherwise they may start to mould. Then a chair weave has to take a back seat.
If willows are soaked, it takes from a few hours to several days/weeks of soaking until I can weave the willows. I soak willow not only for a small repair, but only when I really want to weave several things, be it repairs or baskets. Anything else, in my opinion, would be a waste of water for a handful of willows.
So it takes time to get it done.
For me it is more of a vocation, but yes, basketmaking is still an apprenticeship today.
In the meantime, the apprenticeship has been given a more modern name, wickerwork designer, and the training also differs in many respects, as it did in my time from 1980 to 1983.
However, the training still takes place at the State Vocational School for Wickerwork Design in Lichtenfels/Upper Franconia. The only school of its kind in Germany
I’ve noticed recently that people keep asking about handmade or hand-woven baskets.
Why wicker baskets are genuine handcrafted items
Wicker: a natural material
Genuine wicker baskets are made from young, supple wicker rods. This natural material is not standardised: each rod differs in thickness, tension, flexibility and surface texture. Machines cannot reliably handle this variability. Guiding each individual rod with precision requires a skilled hand.
Artisanal weaving technique
Weaving a basket is a controlled process. The rods must be precisely tensioned, bent and interlaced. Joints are refined, pressure points corrected and structures stabilised. This fine control cannot be replicated by machines.
Why machines can only prepare the wicker
Machines can carry out certain preparatory tasks:
Stripping the wicker
Cutting to length
Sorting by thickness
However, the actual weaving remains entirely a craft. No machine can guide round, elastic natural wicker in the way required to produce a stable basket.
Differences from industrially manufactured baskets
Industrially manufactured baskets are usually made from wood shavings, paper, bamboo or plastic. These materials can be pressed and woven by machine. They resemble a wicker basket in appearance, but lack its stability, texture or durability.
Quality through craftsmanship
A hand-woven wicker basket is a durable product. Its uniform structure, firm tension and precise joints are achieved exclusively through manual labour. Each basket is a unique, individually crafted piece, not a mass-produced item.