The Country Seat, Inc.- Basketry & Chair Seating Supplies

NBO's mission is to be a national, nonprofit educational organization designed to foster an environment in which both traditional and contemporary basketry are understood and valued as art forms. They seek to work in a collaborative atmosphere to pursue the highest levels of craftsmanship and creativity.

NBO was formed in 1999.
Subscription information is available through the NBO website.

Following is an excerpt from NBO's 3rd newsletter:
"Looking at Baskets with a Critical Eye: To Help You Improve Your Work" by Mary Irvine...As basket makers, when we develop our work we are always stopping to ask ourselves if we like a piece we have completed or not. But, if we were really stopping to critique our work, what are some of the things we would be looking at? And, are there differences in the criteria if you are looking at it yourself or submitting it to a judged competition? By learning more about what others look at as they jury baskets we can better critique our own work to help as we submit our work for juried shows.
One resource is Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot, Spring 2000...
...Puyallup Fair decided to set up a separate category for baskets, I was asked to be the first judge for the category. The categories and percentage weights used were the same as for the other fiber arts categories: Craftsmanship 40%, Degree of Difficulty 20%, Design 20%, and Presentation 20%. As you can see, the emphasis here, 60% of the total, is on craftsmanship and technical ability...CRAFTSMANSHIP: overall technique; finishing/outside & inside; attention to detail; joining; rims/edges; sits evenly; shaping control; evenness of stiches/spokes; appropriateness of materials to form/function/durability; if a utilitarian basket - how durable/sturdy. DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: materials used in relation to execution; style/technique in relation to execution. DESIGN: proportion; balance; line; use of color; individuality, originality, or interpretation of a traditional style. PRESENTATION: choice/use of materials; use of embellishment; how appropriate; overall appearance; judges discretion...
So, if you want to improve the quality of your work, what can you do?... Strive for vitality and originality. Practice, master the technique. Work in a series, repeat, make changes and improvements. Develop a line of work. Get comparisons, be aware of what is happening out there at the present and how it is or not influenced by historical work. Check out books, magazines, shows, galleries, the Internet.
Remember to stop and look at what you are doing and ask questions...."what if"...overall design, is it aesthetically pleasing, if the design and materials flow, the relationship of shape and size, the appropriateness of technique and materials, your technical execution. And, most important of all, what is your "gut" reaction to the piece? Do you like it? Are you happy with it? A good basket pleases the eye, it works from the standpoint of form, technique, scale, and materials...

The Country Seat, Inc.
Basket Making and Chair Seating Supplies
1013 Old Philly Pike
Kempton, Pennsylvania 19529-9321 USA
Phone: 610-756-6124
e-mail: weaving@countryseat.com
Fax: 610-756-0088
web site: www.countryseat.com

Free catalog upon request. Please e-mail us at weaving@countryseat.com with your name and postal address. Catalog #30 is the current print catalog, please keep the Country Seat Courier newsletters as they contain all of our new products and any changes to the print catalog. New products are added to the on-line catalog as they arrive. If you have placed an order, a catalog and newsletters will be sent with the order.