We are thrilled to share our passion for willow and weaving with others. We offer seasonal workshops and private small group sessions. Please sign up on our mailing list to be the first to find out about classes offered.
Workshops
Spring 2026 Workshops
Growing Willow
Come and join us for an afternoon of hands-on experience and demonstrations on how to grow willow for many purposes from riverbank protection, to ornamental colour and display, basketry, biomass production and many more applications.
Date and Time: March 28th 1-4
Instructor: Sian Turner and Julie Stinson
Location: 34 Windrose Lane, Harbour Centre, Antigonish county
Cost: $60 +tax
Basic Beginner Basket
Join us to weave with willow and learn the fundamentals of stake and strand basketry. This is a one-day beginner crash course in weaving a base, sides and border of a basket. Led by instructors Susie Murphy and Julie Stinson, the class will combine group demonstrations and one-on-one assistance to help each participant weave their own delightful small round basket. Suitable for beginners, hand strength required.
Suitable for beginners, hand strength required.
Date and Time: March 29th, 9am -5pm
Location: Big Barn School of Basketry, 717 Meadow Green rd
Instructors: Susie Murphy and Julie Stinson
Cost:$180+tax
Tatza-Celtic Knot Basket
Come and weave a traditional Polish Tatza basket. This unique basket, also known as a Celtic knot has a flatter shape than most baskets and is traditionally used for bread however it makes a beautiful decorative wall hanging. This workshop is suitable for beginners and offers a new challenge for more experienced weavers used to stake and strand basketry. Hand-strength required.
Date and Time: April 12th, 12pm -5pm
Location: Big Barn School of Basketry, 717 Meadow Green rd
Instructors: Susie Murphy
Cost:$115 +tax
Kisheen-Irish Berry Basket
For two days you will immerse yourself in the language of willow. We will go over all the aspects of willow growing, tools, material preparation and methods of weaving. We will make a small round stake and strand foraging basket with a pegged or leather strap handle. Perfect for woodland wanderings and berry foraging! This is a very strong basket with waled siding. This workshop is suitable for the beginner maker.
Date and Time: May 2-3, 9am -5pm
Location: Big Barn School of Basketry, 717 Meadow Green rd
Instructors: Susie Murphy and Julie Stinson
Cost:$280 +tax
Peony Crown
Willow is very versatile and this plant support shows another simple and beautiful way to utilize our home grown NS willow. We will be making a durable, practical and handsome addition to the perennial garden.
Date and Time: May 10th, 1 pm -5pm
Location: Big Barn School of Basketry, 717 Meadow Green rd
Instructor: Sian Turner and Julie Stinson
Cost:$130 +tax
Assymetric Basket
Come and join us for this intermediate unique basket project made with a slanted border, french rand driftwood handle. It is perfect for all kinds of uses and allows those with some knowledge of basket making to improve upon their skills.
Suitable for beginners.
Date and Time: May 16-17, 9pm -5pm
Location: Big Barn School of Basketry, 717 Meadow Green rd
Instructor: Sian Turner
Cost:$300 +tax
Bark Basket
In this introductory workshop, we invite you to explore harvesting, preparing and weaving willow bark. We will create a small more decorative basket in willow bark using the Nordic plaiting technique. Participants will also make cordage from foraged materials, adding a decorative feature to the bark basket.
Suitable for beginners.
Date and Time: June 13th 10am-4pm
Instructor: Julie Stinson
Cost: $145 plus HST
Instructors
Sian Gwynne Turner
Born in Wales and raised in Canada, Sian has been a basket maker for most of her adult life. Her formal training began with splint work baskets and chairs felled from the Appalachian forest. After settling in Nova Scotia, she discovered willow work through the Nova Scotia Basketry Guild under the tutelage of both local and guest basket makers from other parts of Canada and Europe. After an early retirement she was able to shift to full time making and teaching using both imported and local materials. After vocational training with Adrian Charlton, a professional willow basket maker in France, Sian delved into all things willow, including growing her willow coppice, teaching classes and private lessons and selling baskets by commission, in galleries, farmer’s markets and her own home studio Helyg gallery.
Sian's story
“Born in Wales and entering the Canadian forest as a young girl, handmade and home grown has been the theme of my life. My journey in basketry began during a three year woodworking apprenticeship in North Carolina where we felled and rived (split) white oak to make splintwork baskets and chairs in the Appalachian forest. After settling in the Nova Scotian Acadian forest 38 years ago, I discovered willow work through the Nova Scotia Basketry Guild under the tutelage of both local and guest basket makers from other parts of Canada and Europe. Raising our family and running a rural business took up a chunk of life and at that time basketry was a bit of a sideline, but with an early retirement in 2012 I was able to focus on both making and teaching using a variety of local and imported materials.
A turning point came in 2018 when I did a vocational training with a professional willow basket maker in France (Adrian Charlton, Norfolk Baskets). This gave me the confidence to explore and delve into all things willow. Including growing my own specialty willows, coppiced for long term sustainability (carbon sink).
In the past 10 years I have perfected my craft through practice and skills acquisition and introduced basket weaving to many a willing hand through classes in Community Centres, Art centres, private homes and in my own studio. I sell through commission, galleries, farmer’s markets and in my Helyg (Welsh for willow) Gallery here in Harbour Centre. My goal is to promote the use of renewable and sustainable household basketry goods and show those interested how to make their own functional, durable and beautiful containers for use in everyday life.
With the recent demise of single use plastics now is the time to embrace reusable and ecologically long lasting baskets to do the heavy work, or delight the eyes and the senses. Through teaching, promoting and using willow baskets, I hope to fill a gap in a tide of desire to make things by hand, from scratch. Imparting a quality that only daily use and appreciation will reveal, willow and all natural fibres are the only sustainable and durable materials we ought to be using.”
Julie Stinson
Julie’s willow weaving journey is driven by creativity, curiosity and a care for our living environment. She got hooked on the magic of transforming a pile of sticks into glorious baskets of all shapes and sizes. A lifelong crafter, Julie has focused on developing her weaving skills over the past couple of years. She draws on her background as an educator when teaching and designing workshops. She is deeply appreciative of the mentorship from Sian Turner, the camaraderie from the Willow’s Bend Collective and the inspiration from basket makers near and far.
Susie Murphy
Susie’s adventure into basket making started back in 2007 with an introductory course as part of a permaculture school in Ireland. Since then, she has been mentoring under the tutelage of Sian Gwynne Turner in fits and spurts between the demands of co-owning a vegetable farm, Big Barn Little Farm, with her husband and raising two children. More recently the farm has added willow growing to the farm plan and provide much of the material for the School of Basketry which is held in the Big Barn on their farm in Antigonish county.
Location
Big Barn School of Basketry
The Big Barn School of Basketry was established in 2020. We began to offer workshops in willow craft in a newly renovated corner of the Big Barn. And we’ve been weaving together ever since! We host two series a year, one in Spring and one in Fall. Our lead teacher and mentor at Willow’s Bend Collective, Sian Gwynne Turner has led the bulk of the workshops and we have covered everything from foraging baskets, lampshades, garden supports and seasonal decorations. We also occasionally invite visiting teachers to share with us their specialty skills coming from other parts of Canada, the US and abroad.
Hope you have a chance to come and join us in the Big Barn School of Basketry in beautiful Meadow Green, Nova Scotia!
717 Meadow Green Rd, St Andrews, NS
Just a quick note to say a huge thank you to all of you for the wonderful workshop weekend just ended. I’m thrilled with my basket: a joint effort indeed, and will always be reminded of your kindness and sense of fun.