Nifty Knit Storage Baskets from £37

NEVER have we been quite so excited to launch Christmas as we have been this year! With doubts around the ways we’ll be able to celebrate this year it’s natural that so many of us are keen to put more time and thought into the way we gift. If we can’t be together, we want the Christmas presents we give to convey some of those big feelings that we can’t express in person: warmth, gratitude, admiration and LOVE. 

In a year that has stripped back so many of the daily choices we took for granted, a focus on quality over quantity has been somewhat thrust upon us.  We’ve had to get creative with our time and our money and make tricky choices - and some of us have been lucky enough to discover some new, simple joys along the way. A morning walk with a good friend. Learning a new craft. The pleasure of making bread or a hearty soup from scratch. I for one have found this year transformational in so many ways and know I’m not alone in my newfound respect for doing little things more consciously.

All of this is a sort of panacea to those who strive to make their living from slow, thoughtful crafts – beautiful, functional objects with an ethical, sustainable story behind them. The indie business community has responded to Covid-19 obstacles with creativity and vigour: new products and services have evolved to meet swiftly changing trends and needs.

We were in great company at this year's Cotswold Fair - and the beauty of online is you can still shop the fair now!

We’ve been able to attend virtual Christmas fairs from our desks and sofas, browsing hundreds of artisans and makers safely and all in one place. Nonessential independent shops have swiftly brought their trade online, using adversity as a springboard for positive change.

One of our favourite indie shops, Indigo Oxford, opens its virtual doors for the first time this week

With conscious Christmas shopping in mind we have curated several gift categories for this Christmas. Each and every one of our fair trade baskets is handwoven slowly and meticulously, and each woven basket is its maker’s own work of art before it becomes yours. This is something that will always feel very special to us. We have put great care into piecing together these ethical basket collections, and the final mindful act in this long and considered journey is your own, thoughtful choice.

 Margaret Mwanthi is a weaver in one of the Kenyan weaving groups that we have partnered with from the very beginning.

We are keenly aware that ethical lifestyle choices are often inextricably linked with privilege: time, money, and other circumstances. There is no place for sustainability shaming at Christmas time, nor any other time of the year! Our advice is to simply do what you can – buy from independents where reasonable and support small businesses in other valuable ways if the purse strings won’t stretch. How? Put one of their products on your Christmas wish list, engage with their content on social media: like, share and comment! 

We will be writing soon about setting the scene for Christmas and dressing your table for gathering and feasting, but in the meantime do browse our collection of festive tableware, from woven placemats and coasters to woven bread baskets and bowls – and woven planters for your festive centrepieces. 

Here you’ll also find gift collections of baskets for little ones – beautiful moses baskets, mini bike baskets and colourful baskets for toys and blankets – baskets for him and for her, and baskets for colourful homes and natural abodes. We’ve picked out Ghanaian dog baskets and colourful woven shoppers, woven baskets hand embroidered in beautiful motifs, laundry baskets with lids and laundry baskets with handles, woven wall platters, colour block baskets and striped baskets for storing everything from logs and slippers to toys, knitting and tech. We’ve also put together a collection of your favourite baskets – soon to be their favourite baskets too! These are our bestselling woven baskets - the ones that we sell the most of and restock most frequently. 

We hereby declare Christmas officially OPEN! Go forth and weave some joy!

Shop CHRISTMAS now.