There is beauty in the simplicity of the ancient craft of the willow basket, each basket individual, and each one only made of one material, willow.

The hands of the crafter are the other key ingredient to making a willow basket, and for Belleek-based willow weaver, Ciara Smith, the tradition, thousands of years old has been passed down to her through the careful teaching of Tommy O’Brien.

“My husband’s uncle, Tommy O’Brien has been a basket maker for nearly 30 years, and he has a deep, deep passion for basket making.  He's such a good teacher.”

She credits Tommy with her success and still remembers her awe and excitement when she first completed a small basket, remembering the feeling of completing a small basket: “I couldn't believe how much I loved it. How it sort of felt like this was what my hands were supposed to be doing”, she said.

Ciara describes how Tommy was impressed with her skills and her ability to keep a basket in shape and enquired, was the craft in the family.

And it was.

Ciara explained that unbeknownst to both her and Tommy, there was a connection: “My great uncle on my father's side, Jimmy Maggee, was a basket maker and used to make a lot of creels and he did things for mummers as well which would have been straw work “Tommy couldn’t believe it as he and my uncle Jimmy had worked on a thing called the Strawman Festival together.”

While saddened that she can’t share the craft with her Uncle Jimmy, Ciara feels that through the connection and the tutoring from Tommy, she is following on in the family line.

In an age where people find themselves to always be on, willow weaving is a welcome break from the business.

“When you’re making a basket, you tend to get lost in it and you're not worrying about what you're going to make for dinner or all those little things, you know, you are just really enjoying what you're doing in the moment.

“People would say it's very therapeutic, it’s quite a mindful activity. A lot of crafts are very mindful. I think people nowadays are taken away from that. There's so many things with devices and social media.

“To sit down and allow yourself time to make something with your hands. It's so satisfying. The fact that you have finished products at the end it as well. It's so functional. When you’re making a basket you tend to get lost in it and you're not worrying about what you're going to make for dinner or all those little things, you know, you are just really enjoying what you're actually doing in the moment. People would say it's very therapeutic, it's quite a mindful activity. A lot of crafts are very mindful. I think people nowadays are taken away from that. There's so many things with devices and social media.

One part of the craft she loves is the low environmental impact, “Willow is as environmentally friendly as you can get, as willow grows it locks in carbon and when you cut it, it still locks in.

“When I make a basket, it’s going to last for decades, it is a biodegradable product, obviously, but most baskets will last between 50 to 100 years.

““There's no glue needed, there's no screws, no nails. It literally willow itself with certain patterns and waves that interlock then suddenly you've got a vessel made out of a bunch of sticks.”

Ciara is grateful that the business, She Weaves Willow,  fits around her family life, who have been supportive of her move and indeed were proud of her when she appeared on the BBC programme, ‘Make It At Market’ last year.

  Like the circular basket that forms as Ciara weaves, the tradition will continue as it has done for millennials, all that will change will be the hands of the weaver.