Personal · 4 min

I Wanted a Basket, I Got a Base

I went in firmly meaning to weave a basket. Three hours later I was holding a base, and I was prouder than I had been in a long time. The MUCEM in Marseille runs summer ateliers for adults, and I did one of the loveliest, vannerie, weaving with willow, in the old Fort Saint-Jean above the sea.

The plan and the reality

How hard can it be, I thought. Then I had the first willow rod in my hand, wet, stubborn, with a mind of its own. Anyone who has never done it underestimates it. Even the start, just the bottom, the base, is a task for three hours. That afternoon I learned a lot about patience and little about baskets.

What the hands want to know

It is good to fail at something that looks like child's play. You notice how much skill lies in an old craft, how many hands it took to make a simple thing perfect. Ever since, I hold every woven basket with more respect. That is exactly the eye I share through LAROGY.

The place does half the work

Fort Saint-Jean is a dream. Old walls, warm stone, and beyond it the open sea. You sit outside, plein air, the wind plays with the willow rods, and you forget the time. If you are in Marseille with three hours to spare, go. You come home with a crooked piece and a head full of calm.