The Sovereign Wicker
"WICKERWORK, the art of making all sorts of different baskets, including ones that open and close, and of all different sizes, to suit all different purposes, in addition to such equipment as winnowing fans, etc. The tools and instruments common to the three kinds of basket makers are the mounted saw and handsaw, the work knife, various braces, including the "hottriau" brace, the épluchoir, the iron punch, closing irons, mallet, trestle, workbench, stool, moulds, and faudoir."
Denis Diderot
Capital of wicker production and basket-making, Fayl-Billot and its region have been, since the 17th Century, at the heart of a very much alive tradition - that of weaving. The region's rich earth bring qualities of robustness and elasticity to its tamed willows.
Living, autoclaved, peeled or untreated - here, it reigns supreme. Colourful in autumn, it whitens at the first frosts, proudly covering itself in bunches when spring arrives. The wicker resists, then tames and bends, but never gets old in the eyes of the wicker cultivators and basket makers who, in their workshops, secateurs in hand, defy new technology.
They cut, split, and entwine, to make authentic masterpieces, and whether they are decorative, purpose-built, or contemporary, they are always known by the name "Vannerie de Fayl-Billot". Fayl-Billot is today the most important basket-making hub in France, and site of the only National School of Wicker Production and Basket-Making.
