I get a lot of emails here at Landscapejuice asking if I would be willing to review a product or advertise something. The trouble is, trading currency, dating agencies and selling insurance does not really fit well with a gardening and horticulture website.
Having said that, I have not been asked to review the products from Basketware either, but I am an interested in one of their log baskets.
I am not sure how many of my regular readers are aware but I, together with my wife Donna and two children Henry and Fleur, moved to France in 2004 and bought an old farm which we have been renovating.
It is a long story but the short version is, after building two bedrooms, a bathroom, toilet into a 66 square metre barn at the beginning of 2007, we decided we didn't like it and proceeded to knock all of the new walls down (600 concrete blocks) and turn the space into a large farmhouse kitchen.
The room, after about 9 months is just about ready for habitation and Donna is putting the finishing touches to the painting whilst I build, from reclaimed wood, a rustic farmhouse Island Unit for the kitchen.
As part of the charm, we bought (at considerable expense but I think it was worth it) a Godin range with wood burning stove. Being two and a half metres long, it dominates it's position and really authenticates the style.
Now we are at a stage where we are looking for complimentary items that are both stylish to look at and fully functional. An old Scythe which we inherited will adorn the walls together with a few tools.
I am on the lookout for a log basket that will look good against the Godin and this is where the Basketware site comes it. It is not that we cannot get baskets here in France, they are indeed readily available but one of the things I like to do is take a few days to decide. I am very impulsive by nature and if I go into a shop or visit a market, I can be easily seduced and buy there and then, only to find that it is not really what I want.
I have been looking over the site for a few days and taken a copy of the styles that I like so I can compare them when I am out on my travels. I may not find or even buy the same and impulse might still take over but at least some planning has gone into it.
I also love the gardening truggs. Baskets have really come back into fashion and of course, as the title of this post suggests, the material that is used is sustainable which really appeals to me and I know, from the feedback I get through this site, and by email that you are all careful about the environment too.
I saw a fantastic willow (in fact a couple or three) that were growing at the end of rows of grape vines. They were brilliant mustard yellow and as the sunset caught the shiny smooth bark they were a sight to behold.
I took three heel samples which I have buried in my sand pile but unfortunately, I did not have my camera to show you. I am pretty certain that these had been coppiced/pollarded for their material in basket making.
I will make it a task and go and get a picture for you, they really are stunning!
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