As part of the Bydgoszcz Academy of Art, we invite you to a basketry workshop – ‘Loop Straw’ – led by Anna Niedzielska.
place: Municipal gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz 20 Gdańska St.
presented by: Anna Niedzielska (SNOP Design studio in Bytom)
date: 18.03.2026 (Wednesday), 16.00
cost: 40 PLN/participant
number of participants: 10 people
registration: danutapalys@galeriabwa.bydgoszcz.pl, until 09.03.2026, 14.00
During the workshop, you’ll learn an interesting traditional technique and get a chance to try working with straw; you’ll find out how to prepare it and what tools you’ll need. The lessons will take place in a cheerful and creative atmosphere. We’ll start by mastering the technique for making the base, learning how to twist and sew on successive strands of straw, learning how to twist and arrange the loops, shaping your basket, right through to the very end. This is how you can create beautiful straw baskets: from round plant pot covers to wide fruit bowls – depending on your preferences, capabilities and ability to put your newly acquired knowledge into practice.
Agenda:
1. An overview of basketry, categorised by the materials used: 15 min
2. ‘Loop straw’ – a theoretical introduction: 10 min
3. Learning the material and the tools: 15 min
4. The beginning of weaving – the base of the basket 1 h.
5. Building the walls – twisting the loops and forming the chosen shape 3–3.5 h (+/-)
Anna Niedzielska – graduate of the University of Folk Arts and Crafts in Wola Sękowa, occupational therapist, basket weaver. She has taken part in numerous certified courses and training programmes in folk crafts – among them, at the Łucznica Academy, The Traditional Crafts Workshop. In the UK, she learnt the art of basket weaving from Amanda Rayner at Wyldwood Willow and from Julie Gurr at Willowweaver. Member of the National Association of Basket Weavers and Wickerworkers and the British Basketmakers’ Association. For several years now, she has been running traditional handicraft workshops both in the field and in her own studio: SNOP design at the train station in Bytom, where she runs regular classes and occasional workshops, as well as weaving baskets.
