Tea Basket
The Tea Basket is an exquisite example of the traditional ash basketmakers art, influenced by Shaker craftsmanship.
The lines are graceful, simple, and beautiful. It has a single overhead handle and is finely woven of narrow brown ash splint with a delicate smooth finish.
The Tea Basket is perfect at tea-time for tea, sugars, or serving small treats at the table. It lends itself wonderfully to dried flower arrangements or as a desk top organizer.
At the table, atop a dresser, or in the office, the Tea Basket is a work of art that can be used as well as admired. It will make a wonderful gift that will be treasured for years.
Artist's Notes
The first Tea Basket was made at the request of my sister. She had wanted a basket that was small, yet with enough size to be useful for serving at the table. When I made a prototype of the design I liked the clean lines and simplicity, somewhat resembling Shaker types of baskets so I pursued the Shaker styling further giving it a spare rectangular shape and using fine weavers.
We kept the first design model to use and at we first called it a "notions basket", thinking it might also be a nice basket for small sewing tools, but Tammy enjoyed tea very much and she kept using it for her tea bags and sugars so the name Tea Basket stuck.
Our sons Eric and Eben tried their hand at making baskets from time to time and they made a couple of the Tea Baskets for us in a rustic mode with rough splint. We still use these in the shop to hold clips and as a catch all for small items.
Several people have told me that they use their Tea Baskets to hold the medicines they use as it is nice to keep small bottles in and move it from place to place in the house.
Over the years the Tea Basket has been our most popular basket.
Collector's Comments
“We love your Tea basket. It holds our “sweet and low“ and is on our table every day. I look forward to adding another basket to my collection. Your work is the best I have seen.“
Jimmie Nell P., Texas
I was surprised and delighted that my tea basket arrived so promptly. It was delivered on a dreary, drizzly morning, and the basket really brightened up my day. It is a work of art! Both visually and tactilely.
Miriam D., Pennsylvania
“For my birthday last November, my husband gave me the Tea Basket. I was thrilled! The year before that, I had cut out a “basket“ of yours from Country Living magazine, & displayed it on the wall, joking that, if I couldn't have the real thing, I'd enjoy gazing at the magazine photograph! I'd seen your baskets at the Common Ground Fair, and now to anticipate having two baskets - I wanted a round one as well as a rectangular one - is so exciting! Enclosed please find the order form and my check. Thank you so much.“
Becky R., Maine
The Tea Basket on cover
of Martha Stewart Living's
Wedding Issue
Spring, 1999.