Willow Tray: Basket Bottom Basics

Instructor: Frea Forager

Day & Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Tuition: $65.00

Ages: Intergenerational (16 and Up welcome with parent or guardian also registered for the workshop)

Experience Level: All skill levels are welcome. No previous experience necessary. This class requires average-moderate hand strength and may not be a good fit for those with hand sensitivities including hand injuries and arthritis. If you have questions about your ability to participate, please contact Olive’s Porch.   

*Registration for this workshop will close on January 11 at 5 p.m. to accommodate the instructor’s willow harvest and material preparation for the workshop*

Students Please Bring:

• Note taking materials
• (Optional) A snack and/or water bottle. Filtered water is available in the classroom

This class is for total beginners as well as seasoned basket makers unfamiliar with building basket bases using Catalan trays, aka tension trays. These trays make wonderful trivets, soap dishes, or wall and table decorations, but possibly more importantly, they serve as a foundational understanding point for how to make basket bottoms or "bases.” For those excited to create larger willow projects in the future such as foraging/pack baskets, laundry hampers, and waste baskets (an upcoming workshop at Olive's Porch by this instructor in the next session), this will be a good workshop to take.  The instructor will also be sharing some of her personal journey of healing through foraging and handcrafts. 

Students will expect to complete an oval soap dish tray approximately 5 inches by 3.5 inches in addition to a more circular trivet tray approximately 12 inches in diameter. 

This class will cover:

·       Some basics of willow basketry

·       Wild vs. cultivated willows

·       When, where, and how to harvest and source willow for basketry

·       Preparing willow for weaving

·       How to build a Catalan tray/base aka tension tray/base   

There will be a 1- hour lunch break. Bring a sack lunch or explore local dining options.

An additional fee for materials provided by your instructor for this workshop is estimated at $40.00 THIS FEE IS PAYABLE TO THE INSTRUCTOR at the time of the workshop. Material fees may change depending on the number of participants and price of materials at the workshop. *Payment by cash or check is required for materials fees. 

* Workshops are subject to low enrollment cancellation if the minimum number of 4 students is not reached. If you have any questions, you’re welcome to call Olive’s Porch for up-to-date enrollment information.

About Instructor: Frea Forager (pronounced FREE-yuh; she/her) helps creative folks, teachers, homesteaders, and lovers-of-the-outdoors learn to use materials from their own backyard to create beautiful and useful home goods.  She is the founder and craftswoman behind Wild Earth Crafts (est. 2014) and has been enthusiastically and professionally helping connect folks more deeply with nature so that we can weave ourselves back into the wild.  She is the mother of two delightful humans and lives to forage for and craft with various fruits, seeds, nuts, grasses, vines, and sticks.