The Making of Our Rattan Bags

The Making of Our Rattan Bags

We're so excited to be launching our latest collection for Spring Summer and we wanted to share a little bit of the process and story behind some of our favourite pieces from the range, the rattan basket bags. 

Hand crafted in Vietnam, the bags are made by skilled artisans who have honed their craft of hand weaving. Basket weaving is an ancient craft practiced for centuries all around the world. In Vietnam it is believed rattan weaving has been practised for around 400 years and has become an important traditional craft. 

The raw material for the rattan comes from the calameae trees which are processed to create a strong, fine and durable stranded fibre ideal for weaving and basket making.  The fibres are then woven by skilled artisans to create the baskets which are then dried in the sun for a few days. Finally the bags are smoked over coconut husks to fully dry the fibre and strength the weave. This process gives the basket its recognisable deep natural brown colour and gives the bags a lovely smokey scent.

The result is a beautifully finished, intricately woven and unique bag. Every piece is individual with very slight variations in the weave, a mark of the makers hand and with subtle differences in colour from the smoking and drying process. We hope you'll truly cherish these bags as they are a reflection of the beauty of craftsmanship.

Discover our range of round basket bags