Hand Woven Baskets | Hand made for you by Rush Reed & Cane

A sustainable and natural life can be filled with beauty as well as utility. Hand-woven baskets fill both needs — they hold your vegetables, newspapers & magazines, children's toys & other household items while giving visual and tactile delight. Carrying a basket makes a statement that you care about the environment and aesthetics. The oldest of crafts, basketry is an art that employs natural reeds, vines, bark, etc., that are woven for a finished product that is a collectible and useful work of art that no mass-produced item can match.

Each hand-woven basket is unique. My basket willow garden is in its second year now (2010) -- see my first willow harvest for pictures. For me, experimentation with basket weaving continues, with no end of vines, roots, cattails, sweetgrass and natural plant dyes, as well as different shapes and sizes, to play with.

Orders are welcome; please allow at least a month for completion. Hand-made baskets also make beautiful, useful and sustainable gifts.

Clothespin Basket

A very handy basket for clothespins or mittens or odds'n'ends. Flat back to hang on porch pillar or wall (hook in picture not included); God's eye on each side. Pretty and very practical!

13.5" wide, just over 6" back to front, and 4.75" inches deep (excluding handle)

Large "Buttocks" Basket

This large buttocks or egg basket was made especially for the "Vessels" exhibition at the 2009 Port Hope Fall Fair. Details include large God's eyes, a braided handle, hues of brown cane from butternuts, walnuts, sumac berries and acorns, all gathered in Gore's Landing, and shaded hues of blue and green.

15" high (incl. handle), 45" opening circumference, 32 ribs: $150 SOLD

Hen Basket

Originating in Scotland, this is the perfect basket for your broody hen! Versatile and very strong; if you don't happen to have a broody hen, it can also be used for shopping, to hold just about anything, or even as a purse. This basket can be made in many colours or undyed, natural reed. The pictured basket is 12" high, 12" long, 11" wide, 7.5" circumference openings; $75

Field Basket

A large, sturdy reed basket for harvesting or for holding anything from knitting yarns to children's toys. Guard spokes on the base protect and prolong the basket's life, while the side handles make carrying easy for one or for two to share the load. Please e-mail your field basket order.

14.5" top circumference, 15" tall, reinforced bottom spokes; $100

Potato Basket

Also called a gathering or field basket, this basket is a descendant of the willow field baskets of Britain. Its sturdy design withstands the abuse of being dragged along the rows in a garden and holds up under stress. It is perfect for storing potatoes and onions or other root vegetables. Natural or dyed reed. Please e-mail your potato basket order.

Approx 10" circumference 7.5" high; $70

Twill Market Basket

A much more pleasant way to shop than using those ubiquitous plastic baskets in the grocery store! The twill market basket is light weight and quite rigid, with good ventilation for vegetables and fruit. Plenty of room for a one-person weekly shop or a mid-week replenishment. Natural + one colour, or two colours. Please e-mail your market basket order.

13.5" long, 10" wide, 8" high (excluding handle); $75

Vines & Grasses Basket

Each basket will be different, using vines or tree branches for the handle and rim, virginia creeper and grapes vines or round reed for the skeleton and weavers of cattail and day lily leaves and other plants, vines and reed. This large basket is 19" long, 16" wide, 6" high (excluding handle) and would be priced at $100 if it were for sale. Price depends on size and complexity. Please e-mail your vines & grasses basket order.

Egg or Buttocks Basket

The graceful form of this basket is particulary pleasing. It is believed to have originated in Scotland. The twin-bottomed egg basket was commonly used for gathering, storing and transporting eggs to market. The depressed centre is comfortable for carrying on your hip (or on a horse or mule!). The God's eye lashing of handle to frame and handle weaving are beautiful additions to these baskets. Please e-mail your egg basket order.

These are small baskets approx. 11" long, 9.5" wide, 5.5" high; $50

Question or Comments?
Please phone 905-342-3743 or e-mail Smallbones.
Postal Address: Box 203, Gore's Landing, ON K0K 2E0
(located beside the General Store in Gore's Landing)

©2007-08-09-10 Smallbones

Hand-woven Baskets by Rush, Reed & Cane