Basket Making

We produce our own range of basketware including traditional coracles. All are hand-made, using traditional methods that have changed little in hundreds if not thousands of years.

Basket weaving is one of very few genuinely "green" manufacturing processes remaining today.

Manufactured entirely from sustainable materials
Hand made entirely with non-powered hand tools
No plastic packaging materials are used
Almost no waste from the production process
No harmful chemicals used in the production process

Robert Johnson at work in our Bangor-on-Dee workshop.

In addition to a large range of standard basketwork products, we can also accept special orders for bespoke basketware to customers' requirements, including copies of antique items. We have made everything from needlework baskets to hot air balloon baskets and even basketwork motorcycles, so if you have any unusual requirements, please don't assume that we can't do it!

We can also repair and restore damaged or worn basketwork items and chair seats in cane, rush or seagrass.

Please call to discuss your requirements or for more details.

Special-order customers include Chirk Castle, Erddig Hall and Theatre Clwyd.

Demonstrations for coach parties

Demonstrations of the fascinating art of basket weaving are available by prior arrangement. See the panel on the right of this page for details.


Our wicker baskets in the laundry and servants' quarters at Chirk Castle, a local National Trust property.

The Basket Making process

The raw material - a bundle of willow

Basketry, basket weaving, basketwork or wickerwork involves the weaving of supple willow stems into sturdy baskets and other products. In general, no other materials are used in the construction.

Although wood and metal reinforcements and adornments can be added if required, for most products, sufficient strength can be achieved by the skilful use of the willow itself.

Baskets of all sizes
A range of baskets on display in our showroom

The strength and versatility of wicker products

The wicker basket is one of those everyday products that we all tend to take for granted, without giving much thought to how they are manufactured. This is a pity because the process is one of the few county crafts that have remained unchanged for centuries and still produce products that are viable in the modern world. The versatility of items that can be produced is amazing, from sowing baskets to baskets for carrying the crew and passengers of hot-air balloons. In between there is a vast array of practical containers and decorative items.

Ken Griffiths

Tools and Equipment

Virtually unchanged for hundreds of years, the tools and equipment used for basket making are very basic. There is no automation and no machine tools are used.

Here's a basic list of tools:

Work Board to hold the basket at the correct angle for working
Small Hand knife for sharpening stakes and trimming
Small Bodkin (bradawl) for pegging the work to the work board
Medium Bodkin (bradawl) for easing cane into position and for tapping down the rows of weaving to keep the work level
Shears for cutting thick stakes or a number of stakes together
Round-nosed pliers for kinking the stakes before bending them to make a border
Side Cutters for cutting off the ends of cane
Ruler for measuring. A two-foot rule is the most convenient
Screw Block for holding the stakes firm when making a rectangular base or lid

Technical Terms

Stakes are the thicker canes used as a foundation for the weaving. Bye-stakes are additional stakes inserted alongside the original stakes to strengthen the structure.
Weavers are the finer canes used for the weaving. They are woven between the stakes to form the body of the basket.
A Stroke denotes the method of using the weaver and represents the complete movement in any particular type of weaving.
A Border is the method of securing the loose ends of the stakes.
A Trac is a border in which the movement od each stake is completed before the next one is bent down.
A Foot Trac is a trac made underneath a wooden base to secure the stakes.
Randing is weaving with one weaver.
Slewing is a variation of randing. Two or more canes are worked together as one.
Pairing is weaving with two weavers worked alternately.
Waling is weaving with three or more weavers and is used at intervals to strengthen the basket.
Upsetting is waling used to "set up" the stakes when the sides of a basket are begun.

More about our the products of our basket making on the wickerwork products page

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Basket Making demonstrations for coach parties

Demonstrations of the fascinating art of basket making are available all year round for coach parties by prior arrangement. Tea and coffee available.

Call us on 01978 780781 for further details or to book

We recommend combining your visit with a lunch at The Buck House Hotel or the Royal Oak pub, Bangor on Dee, both just a few hundred yards from our showroom.

The Buck House Hotel

The Buck House Hotel, Bangor on Dee

The Buck House Hotel website

The Royal Oak public house

The Royal Oak, Bangor on Dee

The Royal Oak website

Pictures by Oraica Ltd

OPENING HOURS

9.00am - 5.30pm
Mon - Sat

11.00am - 4.00pm
Sundays & Bank Holiday

Bundles of willow in our workshop read to be woven into basketwork products

More about our the products of our basket making on the Wickerwork Products page

An article about J Johnson and Son and our traditional basket making on the Leader newspaper website