Round shopper basket course with Joe Gregory at Creative with Nature Todmorden West Yorkshire

Booked this for a Christmas and thank you present for my sister and it was fabulous. We thoroughly enjoyed the contemplative nature of weaving with willow and Joe is so knowledgeable about her craft. Todmorden and the surrounding area is so beautiful we loved it. We stayed locally and had two days of quiet, precious sister time. And made baskets we love. What could be better.

Thoroughly enjoyed the workshop, in fabulous new premises. Joe is a great teacher, I'm amazed that I was able to make a basket in two days. I wish I lived closer, would love to do more.

My wife booked me on my first course as a Birthday present and I've been hooked ever since! I've been on 3 so far and I have loved every single one, the teaching is brilliant and the baskets I've made are beautiful and its amazing to see how far I've come. I cant wait for the next!

A wonderful well-paced 2 day basket course. My mum and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and have beautiful baskets to show for it. Thanks Joe and the other ladies for such a great time xx

Absolutely fantastic course from an inspired and experienced teacher. The whole experience was very well thought through, with differentiation built in depending on ability/ confidence. I felt fully supported through the whole process and came out with a fantastic looking log basket and a sense of real achievement. It has inspired me to continue my learning journey in working with willow and will no doubt return for some more training at some point.

Had a great time on a two day log basket course with Joe. She was very patient and I learned a lot, came home with a great log basket and a bucketful of enthusiasm to continue. Throughly recommend.

I loved these two days. As a complete beginner, at the end of day one I wondered how any of us would ever come away with a basket worth having, yet by the end of day two, like magic, we each had a log basket to be really proud of! The course was well planned and paced and Joe, as well as being a lovely person, is such a good teacher. She explained everything so well and so simply, yet not in the slightest bit patronising, just encouraging, reassuring and very complimentary about all our efforts. Thank you Joe, you've certainly kindled a little fire...

A really great course. A room of people who had never made baskets before, yet after two days we had all created something beautiful. Joe is an excellent teacher, very clear, spreading her time equally between everyone, and sharing her great depth of knowledge and enthusiasm generously. I would have considered this a bargain at twice the price.

Brilliant 2 day course, I had only made one basket previously, and was delighted witht the log basket I was able to make over the weekend . Joe is a great teacher, I learned loads, and it has definitely whetted my appetite for more!

Great course, great materials, lovely people!

I loved this course!
I had booked on an earlier course but was then unable to go and Joe was really accommodating about me rebooking.
The course itself was great! Lovely people, great tuition and plenty of willow to weave.
I came home with an asymmetric log basket which I adore and which has been widely admired by family and friends.
Thanks Joe! X

I was amazed at my finished product. Jo was so patient with me as a complete beginner. She was very welcoming and provided beverages throughout both days.
I am looking forward to my next course.

I would highly recommend this course. I had never done any basket weaving before and by the end of the second day I had an amazing basket to take home. It was entertaining and fun and Joe teaches in a really relaxed manner, in small class sizes. Everyone works at their own speed and you never feel like you are being left behind. I will definitely do another course with Joe.

Joe has facilitated a life long ambition to learn basket weaving, a wonderful and inspirational teacher, she is patient and yet firm and everyone comes away from her classes with fabulous work. Highly recommended!

My day spent at your lovely studio was wonderful. I was so inspired by this new craft and can’t wait to learn more. I even want to grow willow now. Thank you Joe

Fantastic course and so pleased with my basket. I’ve never done basket weaving before and Jo made it very easy, explaining each stage and giving lots of advice. The time went by very quickly and I am very proud that at the end I have a useable basket. I am booked on another course later this year, worth every penny, can’t wait.

Brilliant course
Jo was fantastic at showing us what to do and before I knew it I had half a basket made. Brilliant course, great company and great teaching. Thank you

From an 'Art Basket' to an asymmetrical one, a bread basket, a bird feeder, a pea climber, a foraged basket... Joe is indeed very creative with nature and such an excellent teacher who creates such good vibes in her workshops. Can't rate the experiences highly enough.

I have attended many courses with Joe. I especially liked the foraged basket course. The 2 day courses are excellent. The venue is great with many places within a few yards to buy lunch

I've been on many courses with Joe, at her lovely studio and other venues too. I booked a session for me and my mum for her 80th birthday (what do you buy an 80 year old!) Joe's patient teaching encouraged my nervous mum to make a lovely pea climber which she enjoys in her garden, and we had a very special day together.
On every one of Joe's courses you come away with a beautiful creation; her teaching is excellent. Joe engages all class members equally, whether you're a complete beginner or have lots of experience you'll enjoy your time spent with this lovely lady. Her knowledge of willow, basketry and all things natural is extensive and readily shared - go ahead, book a course you'll never forget!

Joe offers fantastic and friendly tuition, in a lovely space right in the heart of Todmorden: a fascinating little town in the beautiful Calder Valley. Joe is very skilled and knowledgeable and an excellent teacher. She grows, cuts and prepares her own willow, so when you learn at Creative with Nature you also learn about the tradition of willow weaving and have a sense of its place in the wider landscape.

Joe really cares that people get the most out of a visit to her workshops, and leave with new skills and a new object they can be very proud of. Cannot recommend enough.

Joe is a great and patient teacher. I bought the course as a gift for my Mum and I. It was a lovely day and we learnt so much. Highly recommended.

Joe is a super teacher, crafts person & keen to share her talent & skill. She has endless patience. The basket weaving course was stretching, rewarding, muscle building and great fun. I loved working with a new material & having the opportunity to try something new. And, Joe's store is a delightful environment to get creative. Thanks Joe :-)

Time flies on these courses, loved it, seeing something amazing you have made yourself, with help from Joe, who is a brilliant teacher. Will definitely be doing more...

Joe is a really friendly, helpful and patient teacher. I was so pleased that I managed to create a reindeer and a goose in a short time.
She is well organised and supplies all materials.

I should have completed this course in the winter but was unable to due to a minor virus. I was therefore very pleased that Jo allowed me to re- book on this spring one day course making a bread basket.
It was my first attempt at willow weaving, after many years ago making cane baskets with wooden bases, with children. I wanted to experience the process of making a willow basket from scratch, with just the willow.
I found the whole process very varied, interesting and mind consuming. Once can see why it was used as an early form of therapy and why Jo emphasised that it was a piece of technology. I found it a difficult process but Jo was always there to calmly guide me through my problems. My basket isn't perfect but it sits proudly on my kitchen table full of fruit. I now look at all the many and varied baskets in my house with an increased respect for their makers.

Great course! So pleased with my asymmetrical basket. Joe is an excellent teacher, very knowledgeable, calm and she has such a passion for her craft. Her love of weaving is really inspiring and she explains the complexities of willow weaving and basketry in a really accessible way. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed my asymmetrical basket course with Joe at Creative with Nature. I'm thrilled with my basket. Joe is really friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. She's an excellent teacher and patient too. Thoroughly recommended.

Jo is such a great instructor with an obvious super passion for the craft which comes across in her teaching.
This was my second course and again I loved it. The atmosphere in the studio is just lovely, I always feel very welcome.
I have learnt so much and look forward to my next course.
I would recommend without hesitation to anyone looking to book a course with Jo.
Kathryn

Informed tutor that knows all the technical details about her subject and delivered with a calm and inspiring manor.

A wonderful two days of making & crafting & company. Joe is an inspirational teacher and guide. I'm always amazed by the quality of the willow baskets woven in the workshops and the proud faces of us beginners as we show our basketry off for the end-of-class photo. I'm starting to 'get' the process of making a round basket with a 'slath' base and how this differs from a frame basket. I'm remembering the terminology and the processes: waling, French rand, butts & tips, chasing and pairing. Joe knows her willows, from planting, harvesting, drying, soaking and mellowing, and all of this is done for us so that we can concentrate on the weaving. And concentrate and weaving we did. Looking forward to building on these budding skills. Thanks Joe.

I've been on three willow weaving courses run by Joe Gregory, of Creative with Nature, and I would thoroughly recommend all of them. The foraged basket course was a joy - from learning about the different natural materials and their properties, to being taught the weaving process with expert advice, to bringing home the wonderful finished product (incorporating willow, hazel, holly, birch, dogwood and ivy).
The hare sculpture course was also fantastic - looking at Joe's sample sculptures, at the start of the day, I thought "I'll never to be able to complete something like that that in a day"- but under Joe's careful guidance, I ended up with a willow leaping hare that is a much-admired wall feature in my home. I then booked onto the bird sculpture course, and loved making the willow heron, which stands next to the pond on my allotment.
Joe is a true expert in her field - I feel lucky to have been able to learn from her.

I took part in the foraged basket course with my mum and sister. It was a great weekend and a lovely way to spend some quality time with family and meet new people. Joe is a great teacher, highly skilled and very friendly. Weaving is such a lovely, theraupic process! Great for the soul! I can't wait to go back. I highly recommend.

Fantastic energetic weekend workshop in a great setting. Combining fun out foraging for weavable materials in Townley Park for part of the first day. Then using your finds with lots of knowledgeable guidance to explore their potential for weaving and how to make a beautiful colourful woven basket.

I've completed 2 basket and 2 sculpture courses with Joe Gregory from Creative with Nature. She's a fab teacher, very patient & helpful. I'm so please with the baskets and the sculptures I've made, highly recommend.

The shop is based in the lovely old town of Todmorden, with plenty of on street parking and places to go for lunch. This is the third course I have been to, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. But the two day basket making course was fantastic. Joe is extremely patient with everyone. I now have much more of an appreciation for baskets now that I know how much work goes into each and everyone of them. I adore the basket I made and due to the hard work I put into the making of it, I know it will be part of my home for a very long time. The price may seem expensive, don't let this put you off. Yes you can but one cheaper, but it will never mean as much to you as the one you created from sticks of willow. A course to teach basketry and appreciation of an age old craft. can't wait for the next course - already booked!

I had such a good time on this course - The satisfaction from weaving with willow and natural materials, being taught to weave the most beautiful basket is a fantastic feeling. I cant believe how well I did - a lot of it is down to Joe’s being such a good teacher, extremely patient and attentive - and she has the ratio of students to teacher just right so you get all the help and guidance you need. The gallery/studio itself has a very calming, comfortable atmosphere - I felt right at home - I’m already booked onto the next Stag Head course - I can’t wait :-)

All of Joe's willow weaving courses attended so far have been enriching and enjoyable experiences. Joe is very approachable and friendly while she has a lot of patience in showing her students what is required to make a successful piece of willow weaving whether that takes a specific form such as a basket or whether it is more of a free form sculpture such as an animal. I would highly recommend Joe and her courses to anyone!

Joe is an excellent teacher. The course was fun, and all the new beginners made excellent baskets under her patient guidance.

This was my first course with Joe, and I’d received it as a present. What a fabulous gift! It turned out to be the first course of many. I am addicted.
Joe is a very patient teacher, helping you to creat a unique basket. The course are only small groups so you all revive lots of 1:2:1 guidance throughout the day.
Weaving is like therapy; it is so absorbing that you can shut down the stresses in life, just get on with your basket.
The courses are excellent value for money.

A fabulous course . Joe has great knowledge which she delights in sharing. Great to finish the day with a basket of ones own.

most enjoyable. highly recommend!

I have been on a number of Joe's willow weaving workshops and have loved every minute of them. Her workshops take place in some fantastic venues including her lovely studio gallery in Todmorden. Joe is a great teacher, very knowledgeable, approachable and friendly. She creates a lovely atmosphere for therapeutic weaving time! I highly recommend all of her courses.