‘People said I wouldn’t be able to make a living out of being a basket maker’
Annemarie O’sullivan, 46, lives in Lewes, East Sussex, and says she ignored critics to follow her passion.
‘Sitting on the floor of my home studio among wood scraps, rubber bands and wires, I bend one stick of willow around the next. Hand-weaving baskets feels like second nature to me now, but I’m still as devoted to the craft as I was when I started my business seven years ago.
I’d never have dreamt that this is what I’d end up doing. In fact, I used to be a primary school teacher and I enjoyed being in the classroom. But I was yearning for change, and when I went on a basket-weaving workshop with a friend 12 years ago, I was immediately hooked.
Keen to learn more, I enrolled on a five-year part-time basket-making course at London’s City Lit college. During training, I started selling the pieces I was making to family and friends, and realised that this is what I wanted to spend my life doing. People told me I wouldn’t be able to make a living out of being a basket maker, but I refused to listen and, after graduating from my course, I took the leap, leaving teaching to launch my own business.
My husband Tom was thoroughly supportive, and he helped me build a studio in our garden. I then rented a plot of community land 20 minutes from my home, where I planted 16 rows of willow. Once a year, I’ll harvest the willow with the help of friends.
Rather than working on several pieces at a time, I prefer to focus on one product, because once I get started I’m totally absorbed! Each basket can take over a day to make, but with my sons at secondary school now, I’m able to spend longer hours in my studio. Once I mastered the art of baskets, I started teaching myself how to make other things from willow, too, such as trays and even chairs.
TURNING POINT
I initially sold my products online and by taking them to craft fairs. However, my lucky break came four years ago when I was selected for the Crafts Council’s Hothouse programme, set up to support emerging makers. When asked who I wanted to sell my work, I said The New Craftsmen, which is a prestigious online platform that sells the best in British craft. When they contacted me a week later saying yes, I couldn’t believe it! Since then, my order numbers have soared, meaning there can sometimes be a six-month waiting list.
I now share my skills with others, too, running basket-weaving classes from my home. I charge around £90 for a day-long course and love seeing the enthusiasm in people trying it for the first time.
There’s nothing better than the thought of what I’m weaving being filled with bread and grapes and laid on a blanket in the woods for a family to enjoy.’ • annemarieosullivan.co.uk