March 2022 Artist in Residence- Daniel Brockett
As Pergamena's Director of sustainability, one of my goals is to partner with farms and crafters who share our love of handcrafted products and the planet. In the highly commercialized world that we live in, cheaply produced products are abundant. So, when you find a handcrafted product, it transcends from a simple commodity and becomes a work of functional art.
Makers like Daniel Brockett strive for sustainability both in their products and processes. Daniel and his wife Betsy are the owners of Foggy Blossom Farm. While his day job is running their farm's perennial nursery and establishing a food forest, in 2018, he discovered willow basket weaving. Daniel quickly became enamored with the craft because of his love of homegrown materials and a passion for working with his hands.
The problem is willow for basket weaving is hard to source. So, at the beginning of his journey, Daniel started experimenting with what he was able to harvest from their farm - "blackberry canes, grapevines, honeysuckle, and multiflora rose. The creations were rough, and the material not ideal." But, it was too late; he was already "Hooked" on the process. Since Daniel's attempts at finding willow led him overseas or to "dead ends." So, he decided he needed to source willow a little closer to home; it turned out he didn't have to go very far.
Foggy Blossom Farms is now home to over 3,000 willow plants, and last fall was the first harvest of the willow for his weavings. Even though he has only been weaving for three years, he has made almost 100 unique woven creations, including backpacks, totes, fishing creels, and shopping baskets. His favorite design to date is one of our favorites as well.
This handwoven willow backpack uses Pergamenas undyed Traceable leather for its straps. While adding additional materials and steps is always a challenge, he says, "In that piece, I was able to execute the vision as it appeared in my head." Now we all want his vision on our backs.
Daniel said to me, "At the heart of [my] weaving is my relationship with willow." But as I get to know him and his farm, it’s clear that it's bigger than just his "relationship with the willow." It's about his relationship to the land, the craft, the planet, and his relationship with his equally "talented creator" wife. Daniel hopes that they will be able to collaborate on baskets together in the future, with him weaving and her "embellishing the leather elements with pyrography and carving to make them even more unique and special." We are honored to have relationships with unique and special makers like Daniel Brockett.
As Pergamena newest artist in residence on our Instagram, we will feature behind-the-scenes looks at Daniel’s farm and weavings on our Instagram. To see more of Daniels and Betsy's work, follow them on Instagram @foggyblossomfarm, or on their website. If you want to check out his woven creations in person, you can visit his booth at Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh starting April 30th.