Chill With Willow
Oct 5th, 2007 by Jenny
Decorating my wedding venue with plants is becoming quite a creative project. I’ve been learning loads of new things about growing flowers and ivy… and last week I learned a whole new craft. My Mum and I visited Christine Brewster of www.stripeybasket.co.uk in Englefield, Reading, and learned willow weaving.
I had only ever previously had one attempt at willow weaving, at a green hen party I mentioned on this blog in July. My Mum had never tried it at all before! But last week we each made a beautiful willow obelisk to stand on either side of the stage for my wedding ceremony.
Our original idea was to stand the obelisks in pots and train my two ivy trees to grow up them. I don’t know if this will work but even if it doesn’t, I am so pleased with the two obelisks that I think they would make great decorations even on their own! And afterwards they will not be wasted – we can use them at the allotment as plant supports.
We spent most of the day at Christine’s workshop in the beautiful grounds of Englefield House near Reading. She showed us the different kinds of things you can make with willow and how you can even incorporate recycled tins and bags to make amazing pretty baskets. You would never know they were made of recycled bits and pieces.
Some of Christine’s willow sculptures and walls were amazing, but we decided to stick to making obelisk plant supports. It was great fun but took a fair bit of patience. We had to work slowly at the weaving and in fact it was a good chance to sit and talk – an opportunity we don’t often get.
Christine said that nowadays people often expect things to be ready instantly and don’t have the patience for ‘slow’ crafts any more, which is why willow weaving is not as popular as it once was.
By the same token, people often expect to be able to instantly buy two ‘matching’ baskets – or four, or eight! But of course, no two pieces are ever quite the same and each one takes time and patience to produce… but that is part of what makes them so impressive. If you buy an orignal piece of art in willow you know that it is unique - and that it has been made with skill and attention, rather than with a machine.
The ones that Mum and I have made are slightly different from each other, and they took us all day to make! But remembering the fun we had making them, and being able to tell which of us made each one, is part of what makes them interesting.
Brides are always being told not to let planning a wedding stress them out, and not to expect everything to be ready instantly or to worry about perfection. I can recommend spending a day learning willow weaving, chatting about the wedding plans and making beautiful eco-friendly decorations for your big day. It’s a perfect opportunity to sit back and take stock of all the excitement.
Jenny