Karen Bek messaged me on Instagram while I was travelling through Norfolk, and I’m very glad she did. She’s a basketmaker in North Wootton, near King’s Lynn, making traditional and contemporary willow baskets, some of them woven from willow she grows herself. Basket made from something grown a few steps away, shaped by hand and meant to be used for years. The kind of pieces you definitely want to know about if you find yourself near her workshop. Her work runs from traditional English baskets, the round kind built up from a woven base, to contemporary pieces that bring in foraged, found and coppiced material. There are practical baskets for gathering and carrying, and more decorative work too, including willow handbags and sculpture. Before basketry, Karen worked in social and therapeutic horticulture, and that interest in making and wellbeing runs through her teaching. She’s a member of the Basketmakers’ Association and runs willow workshops across East Anglia, including at Holkham Hall and Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse. She also teaches monthly basketry classes in North Wootton, where beginners learn the craft over time. Those have their own listing on Produced Near-By. Karen takes commissions, so if you have a particular basket in mind, get in touch and talk it through with her. And if you do, ask her about the willow. It may well have grown just down the road from where your basket was made.

Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karen_bek_willow_/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenBekWillow

Can people visit or buy direct?

Karen takes commissions and sells her pieces through her online shop. She also runs workshops. Please contact Karen through her website for more details.

Website

https://www.karenbekwillow.co.uk

Address Summary

North Wootton, King’s Lynn, Norfolk