Wicker is making a big comeback in furniture design, after a long period out of favour. European, renewable and robust, it is once again very much in vogue and has a bright future ahead of it.
Wicker is the name given to the young shoots… of the willow. The willow, which is found absolutely everywhere in our part of the world, thrives in cool, damp places. Touraine, Haute-Marne and Somme are, amongst others, the main regions for wicker cultivation in France. Similarly, throughout Europe – in the Baltic States, Poland, England, Germany, Belgium, and even in places with a reputation for drier climates such as Spain – there are still significant centres of wicker production. Poland, Spain – do they seem far away? Compared to the thousands of kilometres that even the smallest strand of rattan travels to reach us, European wicker is actually right on our doorstep. Deliveries of finished products take just one or two days, without the hassle of complicated customs clearance. Global geopolitical tensions, environmental challenges, reindustrialisation – wicker ticks all these boxes when it comes to making furniture, making it a thoroughly modern material.
Not only is wicker a local crop, but growing it requires virtually no external input other than the wicker grower’s own hard work. It is content with whatever water Mother Nature provides – and not necessarily rainwater, for that matter; it thrives on water from the ground, riverbanks or damp ground. Wicker requires no fertiliser, just a few treatments when – and only if – pests attack it. It does not deplete the soil and is as renewable as can be, as it is harvested every year. Our natural wicker armchairs are sold without varnish or lacquer. Lacquered versions are available as an option. A renewable crop that provides work for basket weavers in Europe. What more could one ask for!
There are dozens of varieties of wicker, each with its own characteristics: the finest and most flexible are particularly prized for making wicker baskets. Other varieties, which are harder and more slender, are reserved for the manufacture of classic wicker armchairs. One way in which a wicker armchair differs from a rattan armchair is that it requires virtually no frame. A wicker weave is self-supporting provided the material is sufficiently hard and the craftsman skilled. The result is spectacular, but it requires considerable effort from the hands and arms, as it takes an iron grip to assemble a piece of wicker furniture.
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