Make Good: Willow Baskets

To celebrate the launch of Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures (supported by John Makepeace OBE) a series of workshops will be hosted during LDF, with some of the designers and makers that are part of the From the Forest display in the V&A’s Dr Susan Weber Gallery of Furniture. For LDF, maker and designer Alex Worsfold is inviting anyone who would like to engage with sustainable making to join him in a hands-on basket weaving workshop. You will be using locally sourced willow to make an object for yourself, while learning some of the same techniques that Worsfold employed in making of the From the Forest display. Worsfold made the display structure for From the Forest. He made use of coppiced stems of wood (hazel and ash), grown in Essex and Bedfordshire, within 50 miles of the V&A. Coppicing is a method of woodland management in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down at their base, and allowed to regenerate, thus producing a sustainable supply of timber. Due to coppiced wood’s thin diameter and uneven shape, it is rarely used for furniture. Nonetheless, Alex Worsfold worked with this sustainable material and managed to make all the striking plinths, screens and other elements that frame the display. The design of From the Forest is part of a bigger discussion around sustainable exhibition design, of finding ways to decrease the carbon footprint of their construction, while adding value through their design and making. Each workshop is 2 hours long and free to attend, but booking is essential. All participants must be over 18 due to the tools used. All materials will be provided free of charge.