NARBERTH, Pembrokeshire – 4-Day Intensive Skills Workshop – Traditional Round Baskets 8-11 May 2025
£465.00
4 in stock
Description
MAY 8th – May 11th 2025 ( THURSDAY – SUNDAY)
£465 per person (plus £25 materials fee paid directly to Justine on the first day.)
Are you brand new to willow weaving or perhaps participated in 1 or 2 courses and wish you could spend more time practicing each element of the basket with expert tuition on hand?
This opportunity could be just what you are looking for!
An exciting collaboration from Ash Farm and West Wales Willows where you can immerse yourself in a brand new 4-day course in progressive weaving with tutor, Justine Burgess.
Hosted at Sian O’Doherty’s Ash Farm, nestled in beautiful Pembrokeshire and complete with alpaca’s, the course will focus on all aspects of a traditional round basket, from bases to side weaves and borders to handles. A home cooked lunch, sweet treats and tea/coffee are included.
**There will be a maximum of 5 places available**
The course will provide you with time to practice each element under Justine’s expert guidance, giving you the confidence to see your progression and take the skills forward in the future. Lots of hints and tips to improve you technique will be shared from Justine’s 10 years of willow weaving experience.
Location: Ash Farm, Ivy Chimney Lane, Stepaside, Narberth, Pembrokeshire. SA67 8JU
DETAILS ✨
Your experience will include:
– Lunch and sweet treats every day as well as access to a coffee/tea station throughout the day
The course will cover:
– Round bases: how to construct traditional stake and strand bases and things to consider when designing your base.
– You will have time to practice and make 3-5 bases and turn them into baskets (and other items) during the course.
– Optional Basketmakers Tool Kit available to pre-order – perfect to store in one of the baskets you will make.
Optional accommodation is also available onsite – please contact Sian directly to book, availability allowing.
REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY
If you need to cancel the workshop
We try our best to price our workshops fairly and offer good value for money. We therefore have a clear non-refundable policy to ensure that we cover our costs and the ongoing viability of the workshop.
We do appreciate that sometimes-unforeseen circumstances may mean that you can’t attend a workshop so we are happy for you to send along a friend to take your place, we will need their name and contact details prior to the workshop.
If you contact us at least 14 days in advance of the start date of the workshop, then we can offer a transfer to the same workshop on an alternative date, providing there are places available or a workshop is planned. If there are no suitable future dates, we can provide a voucher to be used for a future workshop booking at Ash Farm.
Please note that there are no make-ups for missed sessions if the workshop is over more than one session.
Our right to cancel a workshop
Should we need to cancel a workshop due to unforeseen circumstances, we will aim to give you as much notice as possible of the cancellation. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any liability for travel or other costs.
Booking this workshop through the West Wales Willows website is acceptance of this cancellation policy.
Julie Williams –
This four day course was amazing. So happy I decided to go for it! I had never done any willow weaving before and yet I came away with three very professional baskets that I am thrilled with. Justine clearly explained and demonstrated all the procedures we needed to learn. She was both patient and skillful at sharing her knowledge with us. I left feeling confident that I can continue to develop my new found love for basketry and weaving now. I definitely recommend this course. I would also like to sing the praises of Ash Farm and the wonderful cafe. The food was incredible here! Sian creates the most delicious vegetarian and vegan food. I had a wonderful Buddha Bowl, Chilli, Tagliatelle and Soup dishes over the 4 day course. The deserts were perfect too! This was a truly wonderful experience and a big treat to myself.
Thanks Justine and Sian x
Victoria –
Ash Tree Farm and West Wales Willlow wove together a joyful workshop.
Up the hill above deep welsh hedgerows with picture views of tree and meadow.
Shop, cafe and studio with hosptaility to nurish and rest.
4 days of willow, learnt so much, the whole cycle of basketry skills.
Varieties to plant, harvest, sort, soak then hands-on with many weaves.
Justine’s teaching adapted to all enabling many basket creations.
The fuel, not just wood on the fire, but food and nurishment.
Sian’s enthusiasm and culinary creations made legendary lunchtimes.
Great food and company with so much willow knowledge in the perfect location.
Had a wonderful time and love my 3 (and a bit) baskets.
Massive thank-you and highly recommended.
Lucy N–
I have had the most wonderful time on the 4 day basket making course!
Justine is a brilliant teacher, so knowledgeable and encouraging. I wanted to make something a little more customised to my needs, which was challenging my beginner level skills. Justine was able to guide me in technique and bring out my confidence in creating a basket I am extremely proud of. I feel so inspired, and have found a passion for basket weaving – I had never done it before.
I am ever so grateful to the amazing hospitality from Sian, and all that catered for our needs.
Sian is the most tremendous cook, creating inspiring and delicious dishes from scratch. Her passion for healthy eating shines through every sumptuous morsel.
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the course, even with some horrendous weather happenings.
I am ever so grateful to both Justine and Sian for their patience, kindness, skills and efforts in making the 4 days a really special occasion xx
Julie B –
I was lucky enough to stay at Ash Farm for the 4 day workshop with beautiful alpaca bedding, a super comfy bed, my own kitchenette, a view of the alpacas in their field and the best hostess ever, Sian.
Justine from West Wales Willows was extremely knowledgeable, supportive and encouraging, often finding alternative solutions if I struggled with an aspect of weaving due to past injuries to my hands.
She covered lots of different aspects of basketry from growing and preparing willow to many different types of weaving so that we experienced a range of willow and techniques which we could then use to make our final woven pieces.
Everyone worked on different projects to suit their own requirements and it was just as interesting working on my own projects as watching everyone else’s develop.
As I stayed on site I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at Ash Farm and the food was AMAZING! I am vegan and I was spoilt for choice with the most amazing selection of dishes. Everything is homemade with consideration and expertise by Sian who was happy to advise, share recipes and ideas.
Over the four days I’ve learnt so much from both Justine and Sian and I’ve had a super comfortable stay which felt like a holiday. With a positive and productive learning environment, amazing food and great company I would recommend the workshop and Ash Farm without hesitation 😁