About Nick LaHaise

Willow & Wood Craft was born from a passion and desire to turn simple materials from nature into beautiful and functional items. All of the basketry materials are harvested by hand from around the West Coast, and woven in a traditional manner. The wooden wares are made from local, reclaimed timbers and are worked with only simple hand tools - axe, knife, and hook knife - until a balanced form is achieved. Bowls, cups, and plates are turned on a traditional spring pole lathe, a foot-powered tool that dates back to the 13th century.

Nick LaHaise is a basket weaver, green wood worker, carpenter, chef, and teacher.  He has studied various traditional arts, wilderness skills, deep nature connection mentoring,  and rites of passage over the last decade.  Nick currently organizes Buckeye Gathering, a weeklong ancestral skills gathering, teaches woodworking at a Wild River Waldorf School in Truckee, and guides Wilderness Fasts through the School of Lost Borders.  He has been weaving baskets and teaching willow basketry for over 10 years, and is growing a small plot of basketry willow in Sierra Valley, where he lives with his family.