“Willow is a versatile and sustainable material. From its natural warm colour palette to its sweet earthy scent, it’s a pleasure to work with.”
Highland Willow is run by Jasmine Wakeford and Paul Collins. They design and make a variety of willow items and enjoy combining traditional techniques with a contemporary take on design. They grow a small selection of willow weaving varieties, the rest being sourced from growers within the UK. Over time they plan to grow more of their own in the Highlands.
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Jasmine is the weaver. In the past, Jasmine has predominantly been involved in textile pattern design, and has a very keen interest in horticulture. Combining design with growing has naturally led her to work with willow.
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While Jasmine is busy weaving, Paul helps out with the 'behind the scenes' elements of this small business.
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Highland Willow
Willow
Willow is the perfect material to sculpt into a variety of shapes, while retaining a natural organic feel. Tough, flexible and hardwearing, it’s been used in basketry work for thousands of years.
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Often known as ‘wicker baskets’, the term ‘wicker’ is actually a weaving process rather than a material . Willow is one of many materials that can be used, and has a particularly strong heritage in the UK.
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Willow is planted and grown in beds, harvested in the winter before being dried out thoroughly. The ‘withies’ (cut willow) are then soaked prior to each project in order to make them supple and flexible for weaving.
It’s a slow and thought out process, at odds with todays fast paced mass manufacture. The end result is a beautifully natural, tactile and robust product.