Who are we ?  The Basketry Cooperative of Villaines numbers among 60 basket workers, 30 osier producers and workers who cultivate their osier beds, then ensuring the control of quality and the supplying of raw materials; last, 30 basket workers are engaged and work in the workshops put at their disposal.
A board of directors, with 12 members, forms the decision and orientation centre of the cooperative. Mr Norbert FAURE is the present president.
The management is in charge of applying the policy defined by the board of directors, and of the whole administrative and commercial organization. Mr Daniel MARTIN acts as the manager.
Mr MARTIN and Mr PETIT are in charge of the production organization, assisted by the workshop responsible.
Mr Laurent CHAUMIN, collaborating with Mrs Yannick ALPHONSE and Mrs Hélène LENOIR, works at the marketing service.
Mrs Bénédicte TESTÉ is in charge of accountancy.
The Deputy Manager is also responsible for the Logistic services, that is to say the finishing touches, packaging, receipts ans sendings of goods. He is helped in his work by Mr Daniel BUREAU and Mr Philippe POPULU.
The staff versability ensures a service of quality to the customers and to all people taking part in the company.
The company also has an After-sales service to repair the baskets handles, to restore cradles or furniture, or to change the canvas of bread basket.
Osier has
different aspects :  Barked osier
Undressed osier (with its bark):
brown, yellow, red, green,
bluish, weaved when undressed,
he offers nice rustic colors. |
Our job, the wicker work! Osier is a variety of willow cultivated and harvested every year. More than 200 varieties of willows grow on the French ground, but only about ten among them are used for basketry.
Osier likes grounds situated close to waterways. In Indre-et-Loire, some thirty hectares are dedicated to its cultivation, on the edge of the Loire and Indre rivers, and in the Villaines-les-Rochers valley.
A basket worker needs about 50 to 60 ares of osier beds to produce the necessary raw materials for his annual basketry making. It also can be tinted or painted with gloss after the objects are made.
Years and light give it a nice natural patina. Osier can be shaped complete (this is round osier), or splitted in three quarters and put under a blade to make it thinner and remove the medulla. Then they become the pieces of split wood used for the light basketries, the fastenings and the trimmings.
For the elements dedicated to the baskets reinforcements, the bottoms, the corners, the handles... we select varieties fastly developping that we only cut every 2 or 3 years.
Osier must be cultivated on muddy grounds of valleys close to rivers and brooks, and requires a mild and damp climate.
Osier is cut after the first winter frosts. Baled, picked over, graded, it is then put in a basin to generate new sap in spring time.
It is only skinned during May and June when the sap is rising.
The white osier then obtained can be stored for several years until it is used.
Villaines-les-Rochers is a good place for the basketry activity : the grounds are favourable as the cave dwellings are with their isothermal quality, allowing the basket workers to work under cover.
Tools used by the basket worker are simple and not many : - A seat,
- A table to support the basket,
- A awl,
- A pruning knife,
- A mallet,
- A pruning shears,
- And a tape measure.
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But the quality of the conception essentially depends on the skilled hands and a know-how. The Skinning
Each year, during May and June, the basket workers skin the osier (this time is really important for the basket work) . That is the reaon why the Cooperative organises The skinning feast on the 3rd week-end in May.
You will be able to see the different methods of skinning, the baket workers, and on the evening, walk along the Marché Gourmand organized in the village.
This feast is open to everybody.
Production, marketing... Having for a long time equiped agriculture and industry, the Cooperative production is now mainly specialized in bakery, the fixtures of large-scale distribution stores, catering and decoration.
The Cooperative main commercial process is based on professionnal trade fairs, the most important being Europain, Equip’mag, Equip’Hôtel and the Shira, completed with traditional catalogues and internet resuming : - All articles for professionnals. Intented for the bakery sector, hotel-restaurant and decoration.
- And last, the one called daily objects made for the lovers of traditional and decorative objects, individuals, decorators...
Our displaying store at Villaines has a great tourist appeal locally. Here we have a turnover of more than 10%.
Our export sales reach 10% of our sales figures with the professionals. The Basketry Cooperative of Villaines makes more than half of the French basketry production, which is really competed with import. Guided tours for groups (15 Persons minimum) from monday to friday are also organized. Cost of 2.10 euro per person; 1.65 euro per person for the schools. The visit programme is the following: - Reception of the group and presentation of our structure,
- Video on the culture and transformation of osier ( 10 minutes)
- Visit of workshops to see wicker workers, and commentaries by a professionnal,
- Visit of the dispaying store where objects can be bought.
- Duration of the visit : 1 hour.
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Contact us the Management and the commercial team are available for all information or estimates.... |
