2012. június 27., szerda

Workshop in Daventry

As most of the people interested in basket making signed up for my mail list from the Northampton area, I decided to organize a workshop that is conveniently close to their home.
I have been struggling to find a suitable (and affordable) place in Northampton, but I finally managed to book a room a 20 minutes drive away in Daventry.
The Daventry basket making workshop will be held on 7th, July between 10 am - 4 pm.
The course is designed for complete beginners, however I am welcoming second timers who can try their hands on something new this time (an oval based basket, perhaps?) 
On this course I am able to tutor 8 persons so please book your
place to make sure you don’t miss it!

Come and learn this beautiful ancient craft with me and go home with a
finished rustic basket!

For further details and to book your place please contact Borbala at:

Booking is on a first come first served basis.

Beware! Basketmaking is highly addictive!




2012. június 17., vasárnap

EcoHouse follow up

So my first (but hopefully not last) workshop at the EcoHouse in Leicester was over yesterday afternoon.
I felt lucky again to have such enthusiastic, good humoured people attending the workshop; everybody went home with a finished, medium sized wicker basket and the basic knowledge to be able to start making a second one!
The EcoHouse is an amazing place with lots of interesting activities going on; it is definitely worth a visit if you live in the area and are interested in organic gardening, recycling and other green activities!
I am definitely planning to have a second workshop here, and next time we might be able to work in the garden if the weather is nice.
Although we used mainly grown buff willow on the course, I made sure we had some colorful green willow and red dogwood to make the baskets a bit more colorful; this is Monica, preparing the dogwood sticks for weaving. The best time to harvest your own material is between late November and early March, but you can still collect dogwood in the summer if you don't mind getting rid of the leaves.


2012. június 10., vasárnap

Mini Mediterranean

I miss Mediterranean summer vacations; I usually spend one or two weeks on one of the Croatian islands each summer. I just love the sunshine, the glittering, crystal clear sea and the zillions of smells; grilled fish, lavender, oregano, pine, and so on.
This year I probably have to content myself with this "mini Mediterranean herb garden" I created on the windowsill; so far I have basil, lavender and mint (and there is going to be rocket in the blue pot soon).
All pots are from car boot sales and each rock is a memory of a walk we took in the countryside here in the UK.