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Basket Weaving: Willow Picnic Baskets w/ Tyler Lavenburg
September 20 @ 9:00 am – September 21 @ 5:00 pm
About the Workshop: Basket Weaving – Willow Picnic Baskets
Join us for a hands-on, two-day journey into the art of willow basketry, where you’ll craft your very own beautiful picnic basket / carry all, using the traditional stake and strand method. These materials and weaving traditions hail from Europe, traveling with our migrant ancestors.
Under the expert guidance of basket maker Tyler Lavenburg, you’ll bend sturdy willow into a beloved basket, ideal for harvesting veggies, carrying your computer, or packing the perfect picnic. Whether you choose a hard willow handle or opt for soft leather straps, your finished basket will be as useful as it is timeless.
We’ll follow the very same process as making a full-size pack basket, just on a smaller, more manageable scale. Along the way, we’ll also dig into the living tradition of willow weaving, learning how to grow, harvest, and honor this remarkable plant and the rich European weaving heritage it carries.
This immersive workshop is perfect for beginners and experienced weavers alike who are ready to create something both beautiful and functional with their own two hands.
What to Expect Each Day:
Day One
- Weave the base of your basket
- Set your spokes in place
- Begin weaving up the sides
Day Two
- Finish weaving the body of the basket
- Turn down your rim for a clean finish
- Add your choice of leather straps or a wrapped willow handle
You’ll Walk Away With:
- A beautiful, handwoven picnic basket made start to finish by you
- The skills to replicate the weaving process on your own
- Hands-on experience with a variety of traditional basket weaves
- Knowledge of willow propagation and sustainable harvesting techniques
- A deeper connection to a craft rooted in European heritage
- A renewed appreciation for what your hands can do
This class will be held outdoors on Saturday & Sunday, September 20-21, 2025, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm each day, near Weaverville, NC.
The minimum age is 12 with previous craft experience and accompanied by a parent, otherwise the minimum age is 16. Moderate hand strength is recommended for this workshop. Please be prepared to sit on the ground while crafting.
About the Instructor: Tyler Lavenburg
Tyler and his family align their life with the cycles of the seasons and the bounty of the wild. They harvest and utilize as much as they can from the gardens and forests around them.
Tyler first fell in love with Southern Appalachian ecology as a student at Warren Wilson College, where he received a degree in Environmental Education. The children’s novel My Side of the Mountain sparked Tyler’s passion for traditional skills and wild foods. Since then, he’s been blessed with teachers and mentors who continue to draw his attention into deeper layers of mystery and the possibilities around crafting a handmade, wild life.
Over the years, Tyler has studied, apprenticed and taught at many traditional skills schools and events, including Wild Abundance, The Roots School, Living Earth School, Earthskills Rendezvous, The Firefly Gathering, Florida Earthskills, Whippoorwill, and others. He’s worked with hundreds of children and adults through public and private schools, homeschool cooperatives, and special events.
Tyler has experience in many traditional crafts and skills, with a special passion for willow basketry. He tends around 30 species of European basket willow and plans to provide basket material and live cuttings to the Asheville community in the near future.
Equitable Pricing Model $335 – $165
* Please click here to learn about your pricing options before you register for your first Perennial Workshop. The pricing options are the same for all events, so you only need to do it once!
In order to make our workshops more accessible, we offer two price options for each class, with an additional Equity Discount for qualifying individuals. Please consider these options and select your price at checkout.
- Sponsor Price $335: For those who have enough to share, thank you for being a Sponsor. This is an opportunity to contribute towards the cost of the class for someone else.
- Standard Price $250: The Standard reflects one person’s share of what it costs to produce the class and cover basic expenses.
- Equity Discount $165: We offer an additional Equity Discount for those from the following communities who support reparations and/or an equitable redistribution of wealth and would not have access to this workshop without this discount:
- Indigenous or Native American, Black, Latino/a/x
- Other peoples of the global majority, or racialized communities
- Ethnicities underrepresented in the Southeastern earthskills community
Thank you for helping transform the world into a culture of abundance, resilience, and opportunity for all.
Which Price Option is Right for You?*
*Please check your pricing options before you register for your first Perennial Workshop. The pricing options are the same for all events, so you only need to do it once!
Class Price includes all Materials for the Class
Registration closes on September 13th at 11:59pm
