In July of 2019 I had the immense pleasure of attending the National Basketry Organization conference at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. I participated in a week of classes from the incomparable Flo Hoppe on Japanese Basketry Techniques.
I can’t recommend enough that if you have an interest in baskets … you should attend a conference or weaving retreat like this. I had never been in a group before where everyone was like me … basket cases! I met so many amazing people, and learned so much from them. I made new friends that I’ve been able to talk to, get advice from and feedback and there is no other way I would have met them all so quickly if it weren’t for the NBO Conference.
I must admit I was pretty star struck seeing, meeting, talking with all these weavers whose work I’ve seen in many books. Everyone was so welcoming and encouraging and offered any information and support they could.
A couple of fun features of the NBO Conference were two shows; one was called “More Basketry” and each attendee was allowed to bring a piece to exhibit. The other show was called “A Week’s Work” and you displayed the basket(s) you made during the week of the conference. Very inspiring to see what people were able to accomplish in a week!
The conference is normally every other year, but unfortunately the 2021 conference was cancelled due to the uncertainty of Covid. But look for it to return in 2022.
