Willow in the Snow

The continued arctic weather means that we are unable to start any of our willow projects at schools. Most schools are closed at the moment and anyway the ground is frozen and covered with snow.
However we have struggled out to cut willow in readiness for the thaw. The only problem is that we have had to leave the rods standing up in the willow bed because we can't get the van anywhere near to load up! We have had to stand the bundles up because otherwise the rabbits will chew all the bark off the rods!

New Decade of Willow

We have managed to get back in to work mode this weekend. The lanes are still packed with ice but we were able to get to our friend Barry's garden in Carlisle on Saturday to do the annual willow harvest from his garden. It was really peaceful cutting willow in a quiet garden with the snow crunching underfoot.

Today we went to Staveley C of E School near Kendal to finish a repair job on a neglected willow dome. The school is in a great setting with good views of the snow covered Cumbrian fells. The pictures are of before and after repair work.

Surestart Project, Liverpool

Today we have been making living willow structures at Belle Vale Surestart Centre in Liverpool. The children are all very excited about Christmas so Simone made them each a willow star to take home and we sang some Christmas songs.

Basketmakers Association

Just got the new Basketmakers Association Newsletter. We were pleased to see that there was a report about the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park this summer. The BA had a stand there with basketmaking demonstrations and we had a large outdoor display with animal sculptures, baskets and a large willow dome. During the show Simone met several of the contributors to the BA stand when they came to examine our work.
However the person who wrote the report for the BA must have missed seeing us as the report has no mention of Willowpool Designs, the North West's longest established full-time willow weavers. We have exhibited at Tatton Park, Chelsea, Hampton Court, Somerset Willow Fair and the Southport Flower Show over the years but we never get a mention in the Basketmakers Association's Newsletter. We are members of the Basketmakers Association.
Over the years we have taught hundreds of keen willow students, some of them Basketmakers Association members but never manage to get reported in the newsletter.
Guess that living in rural Cumbria is just too far from where its at in willow weaving circles and we are too busy trying to make a living from our craft to get involved in commitees etc.

It would just be nice for someone to spot us and notice that we are doing our bit for willow.

Small Living Willow Dome, Liverpool

We have just finished a 2 day project at the nursery garden St Cleopas C of E, Dingle, Liverpool. We made a small living willow dome and 2 tunnels over an existing path.

Latticework Living Willow Fence

Here is a picture of a living willow fence that we saw when we visited Brittany in October. Its interesting to see that lichen is growing on the lower parts of the willow rods. I've always understood that good lichen growth means unpolluted air and plenty of moisture. We get both these in Cumbria!

We worked at St Gregorys Catholic Primary School in Workington on Thursday and Friday. The traffic getting into and out of Workington is dreadful as the floods wiped out road connections between north and south Workington. Luckily the school was on the correct side of the river for us. We made these deer, a giant sun, fishes and birds with the children. We managed to see the whole school over the 2 days!