My Story...

I’m Raye, a teacher, basketmaker and willow worker, living and working in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District.
Willow sits at the heart of much of what I do, from growing, harvesting and preparing it to basketmaking, teaching and writing. I also teach and work with a range of traditional crafts, including soap and natural cosmetics, stained glass, leatherwork and green woodwork.
I’m happiest working with traditional hand tools, natural materials and processes that have been around far longer than I have, using them to make practical, useful things and, more importantly, passing those skills on to others.
Most of this happens from a house that technically has three bedrooms, although willow and other ‘stuff’ have long since claimed most of them, assisted by a lurcher who takes her supervisory duties very seriously.
And when the adults aren’t looking, I still have a woodland and woodland workshop to go and play in.
Willow to Weave
A practical guide to growing, preparing & understanding basketry willow

This book has grown out of years of teaching, making, asking questions and, more often than not, wondering why willow does what it does.

Created in collaboration with Musgrove Willows, it follows willow from growing and harvesting through preparation, tools and basketry, bringing together practical experience, traditional knowledge and the science behind it.

Toolmaker Dave Budd brought his knowledge and experience to the tools chapter, helping me look beyond what a tool does to properly understand how and why it works.

​With a foreword by Mary Butcher MBE, nearly 300 pages and hundreds of photographs, it has become a book about far more than making baskets. It’s really about understanding willow.

Courses

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Courses page

Events/Exhibitions

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Hedgerow Hare

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​Hedgerow Hare Sales page
Traditional skills aren’t preserved by looking at them.
T​hey stay alive by using them, teaching them and passing them on.