Willow Backpack
Workshop 2025
June 20th, 21st, and 22nd
at our willow farm in Weaverville, NC
Join us for a three day workshop and make a willow backpack basket!
This class is open to total beginners as well as professional crafters. Participants will design and make a willow backpack using a variety of cultivated basket willows.
When: Friday, June 20th, 2025 from 9:30AM - 5:00PM
Saturday, June 21st, 2025 from 9:30AM - 5:00PM
Sunday, June 22nd, 2025 from 10:00AM - 3:00PM
Location: our willow farm in Weaverville, NC. Specific details upon registering.
What's included: Participants in this class will learn and apply the following techniques:
*making an oval slath
*tying in the slath
*crowning the slath
*pairing weavers
*upsetting the basket
*staking up the base
*slyping rods
*waling
*applying a false foot
*creating flow on the sides
*using a simple rand weave
*using a french rand weave
*pricking down the stakes
*making a three rod behind one border
*attaching straps
This class requires focused attention and will likely leave your hands feeling tired and sore by the end of the weekend. It will all be worth it when you go home with a beautiful new willow backpack basket and the knowledge of how to make more of them! There will be a maximum of eight participants for this workshop.
Cost: This workshop has sliding scale pricing which includes all materials: $350-$600, with scholarship spots available to people of the global majority (PGM) and those who have been displaced by Hurricane Helene. Please select a payment based on your financial resources. In other words, those with less financial resources should choose on the lower end of the pricing scale and those with greater financial resources should choose on the higher end of the pricing scale. See the Green Bottle Model for clarification and help self-selecting the appropriate payment. Additionally, paying on the higher end of the pricing scale helps support scholarship opportunities for folks from racialized communities who don't have the financial resources to purchase a spot.
Accommodations: We have space on the land for some folks to camp if needed. Please let me know when you reach out to sign up if this is something you will need. Otherwise, please make your own accommodation arrangements in the Weaverville, NC area.
Age limit: Adults only.
Please note this class will require average-moderate hand strength and may not be a good fit for those with hand sensitivities including hand injuries and arthritis. Please reach out to the instructor for more clarification about this if needed.
***TO REGISTER***: please email freawild@gmail(dot)com.
Facebook Event for this workshop
🍉🫒🍉Wild Earth Crafts supports DEI, LGBTQ+ rights, access for all bodies, a Free Palestine, Landback, decolonization and collective liberation 🍉🫒🍉
About the Instructor: Frea Forager (pronounced FREE-yuh; she/her) helps people tap into the potent medicine of their own creativity and deepen their connection to the natural world through earth crafts. You can learn more about her and the work she does HERE.
