Michel Le Guilcher

Michel is, first and foremost, a shoemaker. But the willow he found in his garden intrigues and fascinates him.

He learns how to grow it. Then how to process it.

Today, Michel and Anne-Lise (his wife) grow six varieties of willow on 3,500 square meters.

A precise, meticulous, and time-consuming process: growing, protecting, cutting, sorting, bundling, soaking, debarking…

The basket weaver’s hands then get to work, for hours on end, right on the ground. For him, enjoyment and high standards seem to go hand in hand.

A combination that is not unrelated to his lifestyle choices, balancing ecology and economics.

The baskets are stacked in the house's storage room; they will be displayed later at the markets in Brittany.

Competition from the other side of the world is fierce, but the artisan is holding his ground in the price war:

Time has value, and so does beauty.