Once upon a time...

In Senegal, basket weaving is a tradition passed down for generations to women in rural villages to make extra income. Travelling there as a child, and many times since, I’ve always found these artisans and their craft so joyful. The dedication and community I felt watching them weaving with their children next to them, under a baobab tree, inspired me to launch La Basketry. 

Bringing colour to modern homes 

La Basketry was launched in 2017 as an online boutique, offering baskets and unique woven products for the home designed, all handwoven by a group of female artisans I had met and connected with in a small village outside of our parents’ hometown called Thies in Senegal. 

At a turning point, in my thirties, and leading a busy lives in London, I was keen to start a project that brought more meaning into my life, and the lives of others. 

Our first collection was stocked widely at places including the Victoria and Albert Museum, but it was creating a platform to share Senegalese craftsmanship with the world that felt like my greatest achievement. 

New chapters

And as I spent more time in Senegal, I began to learn how to weave baskets, enrolled in courses and played around with different techniques and materials to understand how we could develop our offering.

Falling in love with the process and making my own creations led to my first book ‘Baskets’ that was published by Quadrille in 2019.

Baskets is a stylish guide to basket-making featuring 16 projects - think basket bags, tableware and storage baskets - using different materials. 

Today, La Basketry wants to celebrate all things woven – be it inspiring you to weave and craft your own creations at one of my workshops, or to purchase a beautiful piece made by a skilled artisan online. 

La Basketry is at the heart of your home, it’s woven into our DNA!

Tabara x