Sadly owner and basket maker Derek Noble passed away on the 13th August. Derek was one of the original craft people who started Art at Cedar Farm. He was a very talented, much respected great character who will be missed enormously by all his friends and customers.
British Baskets will be closed until further notice.
The art of wicker basket making was developed at the early stage of man's evolution.
The number of craftsmen employed and the output of their labour must have been immense but such are the temporary nature of willow and the humble status of the willow basket maker that the evidence of the scale of production has all but disappeared.
Now I am one of the last wicker basket makers in the North West of England. To keep the trade going I now make the type of things you can see - I can make almost anything, so give me a chance to prove it.
Derek Noble
The art of basketmaking was developed at an early stage of man's evolution. In Britain oak, hazel and willow provided material for making the strong rigid containers necessary in everyday life. Fences and houses, too, were built from wickerwork or wattles.
I started work as an apprentice basket maker serving three years; I worked on the plank for a further three years for the same company.
In 1976 I moved to Somerset as a training officer I trained fourteen young people over the next three years some are still basket making to this day.
