About Us

Kate and Alan Burrows are full-time makers of willow baskets and natural coffins, as well as dedicated teachers of these ancient crafts. What began as a spark when Kate first picked up basket weaving ten years ago has grown into a life’s passion—one that has taken us across borders and landscapes, learning age-old techniques and regional styles from master weavers around the world.

Since early 2023, our craft has deepened further with the making of natural willow coffins—an extension of our belief in working with the earth, not against it. Each piece we create is rooted in respect for nature, formed from willow we grow on our own land in County Roscommon, Ireland—land bordered by rushes, wild hedgerows, and wind-swept silence.

Our work is more than a craft; it is a way of living. We run workshops across Ireland and beyond, sharing not just skills, but stories—traditions passed from one hand to another. We invite others to join us in creating baskets and coffins woven with care, intention, and the enduring strength of natural materials.

We are also Viking reenactors, breathing life into the old ways not only through our hands but through the stories we embody. Basketry—an art as ancient as the Viking longship—binds us to them. It predates pottery, shaped by hands that knew the forests, rivers, and rhythms of the land.

To weave is to remember. To craft with nature is to reclaim a quiet kind of wisdom—one that speaks of survival, beauty, and belonging. In every twist of willow and every shared workshop moment, we carry forward the voices of the past, rooted in heritage, guided by the seasons, and open to all who wish to learn.

Join us. Touch the willow, feel the grain of time, and rediscover the poetry of making with what the land so generously provides