You are introduced to the flexibility of a willow twig. In combination with the wind you will have a nice item. At home it brightens up your garden or terrace.

As a basket weaver, Jeanny Bouwen works with the one-year-old twigs of the willow. These are grown around her workshop and she processes them into user-friendly baskets. You can contact her for restoration repairs and custom work. From a laundry basket to a picnic basket, from a picking basket to a cradle.

Her son and Jeanny specifically specialized in fine shin work. In fine shin work, willow branches are split with a splitting wood, then cut to width and thickness on a planing bench, down to the millimeter, and then processed into a basket around a wooden mould. A labor-intensive technique that results in gemstone baskets.

In 2013, Jeanny Bouwen started her own company and Mandenmakerij De Ratelaar opened its doors.

It has been clear for years that her son shares this passion. His real passion lies in fine shin work. Because of his enthusiasm, they followed a two-year course together with Esmé Hofman from 2019 to 2021.

“Our basketry wants to be a safe place for willow, people and craft. It is a warm place where you can smell and feel willow. This willow invites you to adopt a flexible attitude towards our current consumer society. We see it as our mission to make a transition to the future in this way, with great respect for the old techniques.”

Jeanny now shares this passion through baskets, workshops and demonstrations in the Bokrijk Open Air Museum.

This workshop is made possible by Bokrijk.