The Bumbling Basketeer (Simon Cooper)

Oak Swill Basketmaker, Crieff, Perthshire

Simon Cooper is one of the few remaining makers of traditional oak swill baskets — a heritage craft once essential to daily life across Cumbria and southern Scotland. Having trained with Lorna Singleton and Owen Jones, two of the last master swill makers, Simon continues this endangered craft from his workshop in Crieff, Perthshire.

Working with locally sourced oak and hazel, Simon follows time-honoured methods: splitting green oak by hand, riving and shaving the laths, and weaving them around a hazel rim. Each basket embodies the rhythm and resilience of this centuries-old tradition while finding new relevance in contemporary craft and sustainable design.

Through The Bumbling Basketeer, Simon celebrates the quiet beauty of useful things and the enduring bond between maker, material, and landscape.

• Basketry
• Splint Wood / Oak
• Swill
• Traditional