Investing in the Future
Our team is at the heart of our family business, and investing in every staff member is something we deeply value. Each highly skilled artisan brings talents that are essential in creating our coveted handwoven baskets. With the traditional craft of basketweaving at risk of fading away, we feel a strong sense of responsibility to preserve this art, honouring the legacy that’s been entrusted to us. Welcoming new people to the craft – especially young trainees – is a privilege we’re proud to embrace.
Mastering the Craft
Staff members range from young apprentices at the start of their careers to master craftsmen with over 45 years of basket-making experience. Each apprentice trains for at least five years through our Career Advancement Program. This CAP scheme provides a clear progression path where employees can use spine points, service length, and training to learn the necessary skills to become master craftsmen.
All new apprentices are paired with a master craftsman who is responsible for training and mentoring. In the first few weeks, apprentices learn the fundamentals of basket weaving, starting with getting to grips with their traditional tools—a bodkin, wrapping iron, and secateurs. It is then essential that they become familiar with their predominant weaving material, willow. They learn how to prepare it through soaking, understand its varying heights and thicknesses, colours, and how to work with the different varieties. Next, apprentices master the essentials of weaving, starting with staking up, which is the crucial step that forms the shape and structure of the basket. Weaving patterns follow, often complex to perfect the variety of styles. Waling provides strength and structure, whilst randing is a typical pattern for filling the main body of an item due to its neat aesthetic. Fitchwork and plaiting weave styles are often the fiddliest and most challenging to achieve. No matter the complexity of the weave, it can be compared to pottery: as you work, it’s easy to distort the shape, making it essential to monitor and adjust the form of the basket constantly.
Apprentices begin their careers by weaving simpler baskets and designs, gradually honing their skills before progressing to more complex pieces, such as bespoke commissions or hot air balloon baskets. Among all the items we craft, balloon baskets are the most technical baskets due to the importance of their precise engineering, structure and integrity, which our longest-serving master craftsman currently works on. The array of products our craftspeople create is remarkably diverse, with unusual and imaginative requests often coming our way. Over the years, we’ve woven everything from giant Guy Fawkes figures for our local carnival and elaborate willow thrones to more practical items such as irrigation baskets.
The ultimate goal for a master craftsman is to be able to look at a drawing of a basket, perfect the design, and weave it expertly. It’s about knowing your measurements, instinctively knowing what size of materials to use, such as the thickness of your willow, or knowing how high willow partitions should be. The small details matter, and this intuition is learned over time. The more interested an apprentice is in the craft, the more likely they will genuinely grasp it. A true master craftsperson has passion, a creative flair, and an impeccable attention to detail.
Family Culture
Our company culture at Somerset Willow is family-spirited, with regular social events throughout the year, payday pizza and our weekly breakfast club; we do our utmost to encourage a warm environment where staff feel valued. It is also important for us to support our team’s well-being through a variety of ways, including access to an on-site mental health first aider and a well-being support line. Listening to staff through regular check-ins and surveys with an open-door policy allows us to truly hear how our team feel and promotes new ideas and innovations. Additionally, professional development is encouraged across departments and provides training opportunities to empower staff to expand their skillset and achieve qualifications for growth in their careers.
We take pride in the warm company culture that has shaped our family business over the years. Our people are central to everything we do, and every skill passed to a new apprentice helps carry forward four generations of basketweaving expertise.