Wicker and rattan are very popular at the moment: these materials are popular for their natural, raw, and summery feel!
To make objects and furniture from these materials, real know-how developed by basket weavers is required.
Wicker for baskets
Willow comes from the flexible branches of the willow tree. In France, until the 1950s, wild willows were harvested, especially around the Rhône delta. To meet growing demand, willow cultivation ("osiericulture") subsequently developed.
Two types of cultivation methods have succeeded one another: according to the old method, the tree was pruned into a "pollard": a trunk was formed, from which the annual shoots were pruned each winter. Often these trees formed hedges. Then the monoculture of osier developed: cultivated in tight rows to obtain stems seeking light and therefore longer and thinner. Dense plantations form scattered fields. Once harvested (in winter), the stems are bundled and dried or stripped of their bark (to obtain white osier).
The basket maker will then calibrate, cut, and braid the stems to make baskets, small objects, and furniture. This expertise, although increasingly rare in France, is preserved through transmission and the National School of Osier Culture and Basketry in Haute-Marne in Fayl-Billot, the capital of French basketry.
Wicker baskets are fashionable and come in an infinite variety of uses: for the market, for picking mushrooms in the forest, for collecting walnuts or hazelnuts, for the beach, for displaying bouquets of dried flowers, or even as decoration in a living room or kitchen.
On Start of Series, thanks to our private and professional sellers, find some lovely old baskets of different sizes and eras, made by hand by basket weavers.
Rattan for furniture
Rattan comes from Southeast Asia and grows in the jungle. These are thorny stems that attach to trees and can reach 200 meters in length. These stems are picked, stripped of thorns, and calibrated. Rattan is fibrous, solid, and flexible (while bamboo is fibrous, hollow, and rigid). The techniques used with rattan are derived from those used for wicker. Depending on its diameter, rattan can be a flexible or rigid material. To bend it, it is softened in a steam oven and then bent. The pieces are assembled with nails and screws, which are hidden by ligatures. Its color ranges from light yellow to dark brown depending on the species. Rattan can be painted or varnished.
On Start of Series, you will find rattan armchairs, mirrors and shelves.
Notice to sellers: very sought after at the moment, the “Pomare” armchair, better known as the “Emmanuelle” armchair, is made of “peacock” style rattan… If you want to sell yours, create your Sale ad in 30 seconds on Début de Série!