Jane Haselden

Hi, I’m Jane Haselden, busy mum to five wonderful children and maker with a passion for natural fibres.

In 2019 I moved to the Orkney Islands with my husband Matt, and our children. We live on a small island surrounded by wide open spaces and the breathtaking beauty of the sea and sky. Life is simpler here, but still very busy, as we are renovating an old derelict farmhouse and its various outbuildings, whilst home educating our kids and trying to grow as much of our own food as we can.

I made my first basket shortly after moving to the islands. I am a self-taught basket maker, learning by getting to know the plants around me and experimenting to find the best ways to use them. I work with soft fibres, exploring and developing coil basketry, twining and plaiting.

I have enjoyed working with many different plants, but now work primarily with Phormium Tenax. This versatile plant, stands up well to the often wild weather in the Orkney Islands and provides me with strong, beautiful fibres that work so well with the creative basketry that I enjoy.

Our island home has had a big influence on my work. Life here has taught me to make use of the resources around me. It has taught me to appreciate beauty in simplicity.

Renovating a once loved, but long abandoned home has made me ask important questions; How much can we restore rather than replace? Which alterations will affect the character of what is already here?

Recently I have been exploring these ideas in my work. Using things found at our home and on our walks; glass and ceramics that have been worn and washed up by the tide, as well as stones and shells that are a part of our daily life here. By adding a little of my own creative basketry, I hope to give them new purpose, celebrate their beauty and capture a little of the restfulness of my surroundings.

I create unique baskets and also take on some commission work.

• Basketry
• Contemporary
• Natural Fibres
• Recycled Materials