Sapphire Mountain Baskets are made in the studio of Martha Towler in Brevard, North Carolina. These baskets are made from natural rattan reed imported from Asia. The reed comes in sizes from 11/64 inch to one inch and may be flat, round, or oval. A single basket may contain as many as 12 different shapes of reed depending on the artist's concept of an individual basket and is dyed prior to the basket being woven.

Each signed and dated basket is an individual work of art, hand dyed, hand woven and hand shaped. It is impossible to exactly duplicate a basket for several reasons. The most important reason is the weaving technique. Martha does not use a mold upon which to make the baskets. Rather, each basket is created and woven "free style" which allows the reed to "flow" naturally as opposed to being forced into a form. The varying sizes of the reed, even though dyed in the same solution, will "dye" differently due to their structure. The nature of the weaving technique ( which frequently has a mind of its own ), the flow of the weaving, and the varying sizes of reed used all combine to contribute to Sapphire Mountain's mantra, "Made Especially for You". Upon completion, each basket is hand brushed or sprayed with a protective coating to seal the colors.

 

Artist Martha Towler