Fiona Arnold

I am a basket maker and willow grower living on a farm in North Yorkshire.

I offer the following services:

Baskets for sale Commissions Repairs

Having a particular interest in historic baskets, I enjoy documenting and recreating baskets as well as adding interest to my work through the addition of  other natural materials. My style tends to be is simple and stylish.  Design is an important part of my process and I work with clients to design and fulfil commissions as well as selling stock items.  

Our farm  is undergoing change and we are ensuring it is habitat rich for the owls, hare, badgers and the swallows, curlew, lapwing and snipe that visit and nest.  I share my weaving space with barn owls, and swallows in the spring and summer.  As part of the diversification we extended the willow bed this year with further basketry varieties and put up deer fencing.  We are adding ponds to help with water flow from the dales and produce species rich hay for another local business.  In the spring I make willow plant supports for a local nursery and they will become a distributor for baskets.

Other services I provide include:

teaching small groups of 3-4 at home visits to schools to talk to students about heritage crafts  talks at local groups  

I am an active member of the Basketmakers' Association and volunteer as a board member and I am Company Secretary. I sit on the Traditional Basketry Project steering group and am a member of Heritage Craft Association.

 

 

Interests

• Basketry
• Contemporary
• Natural Fibres
• Skeined Willow (Basketry)
• Splint Wood / Oak
• Traditional
• Willow (Basketry)