Arielle Prince-Ferron - Basketry - Winter Solstice Decorations - Saturday December 9th, 9:30am to 4:30pm

*Classes are given in person, at Wööl, emporium de laine, in Montebello.

• Level: Beginner
• Language: French with help for English-speaking participants
• Duration: 6 hours
• Material: All basketry materials are provided and everyone will leave with their woven objects. Bring your own secateurs, scissors, awl-basket making tool (optional), pliers to pull the strands and a rock as a weight (approximately 15 cm in diameter)

• During this workshop, we will explore weaving wicker/willow stems to make decorative objects to brighten up the holiday season and welcome the change of season. We will weave a small Christmas tree (about 40cm high) on a wooden board, as well as a star and possibly other decorations depending on the time available. A great way to introduce yourself to working with wicker, to learn different techniques and to connect with the ancestral art of basketry.

• The Brins d'Nature workshops include a theoretical part (plant used, its eco-responsible harvest and its preparation for braiding) and another practical part. We will work with 'semi-green' or dried and re-soaked willow.

Arielle Prince-Ferron is a basket weaver and storyteller. She discovered the art of basketry 10 years ago. In 2020, she created Brins d'Nature, a small scale business born from a desire to devote herself totally to her passion for weaving with nature, to share an ancient skill that is slowly being lost and to offer an alternative to the accelerated degradation of our ecosystems and our overall mental health. She enjoys creating various practical objects for everyday life, as well as creating living willow structures.


She works only with local plants harvested by hand in a respectful way. Such as wild and cultivated willow from her willow garden, dogwood, roots, birch-cedar and willow bark, cattails leaves and other beautiful plants.

Arielle learned various basketry techniques, mainly self-taught and with a few teachers from Quebec, Vermont and Japan. She also been facilitating groups of all ages for the last 12 years around nature connection, art in nature and empathy. Her focus is to create a small revolution where relation matters, where we care for the living world and each other.

• Ce projet est réalisé grâce au soutien financier du gouvernement du Québec en collaboration avec le Festival de la fibre Twist et Wööl, emporium de laine.