Alexander Edward

Willow weaving is an integral part of our cultural heritage and I am proud to be continuing on the weaving tradition over in the lovely landscapes of County Down. I grow my willow without any pesticides and following organic principles on the Strangford Lough shoreline, harvest it, and go on to weave with it in my urban Belfast workshop. I am not a full-time weaver but recently decided to move into a new job where I have the freedom to give at least one day a week to my weaving. I sometimes have to pinch myself that part of my income and professional life is now as a weaver!

I trade under the name Basketcase Belfast and I want to make everyday, usable baskets for modern life. I make pieces for a couple of shops in the Belfast area as well as attend local markets. I like to think of young, or youngish, people and how we might want traditional crafts in our lives when I consider what, how and why I am weaving. This has led me to make woven pieces that compliment parts of our everyday lives: garden paths, furniture, decorative trays, plant pots, log baskets as well as more typical bowed handle baskets. 

I am very much on a journey of learning, having started weaving in 2023, and have so much to learn. I am proud in the skills I have, especially with harvesting and making circular form baskets, but am keen to develop my skills and want to focus on outdoor work and furniture in particular. As someone who is late-deafened, living with single sided deafness, I embrace the recuperating and healing nature of rhythmic craft work. I certainly enjoy bringing that calm to the times when I teach others to work with willow, or bond with other disabled makers in a variety of art and craft disciplines. 

As well as weaving with my own material, I buy in some 'buff' willow and play with mixing the texture of colour of that alongside my own grown willow. I have also started to experiment with weaving using unusual fabrics, or recycled material, and hope to draw attention to social justice issues with an exhibition upcoming in summer 2026.

• Basketry
• Contemporary
• Garden Structures
• Hedgerow
• Recycled Materials
• Traditional
• Willow (Basketry)
• Willow Sculpture