Tabara N'Diaye is the founder of homeware brand, La Basketry. Following a move to London from Paris, Tabara enjoyed a successful career within the corporate events industry. Despite her success, she had a passion for pursuing something more meaningful to her.
Although she had been surrounded by the craft of basket weaving for most of her life, it was whilst on a family holiday to Senegal that the stars aligned for Tabara and she was inspired and in awe of the intricacy and beauty of the craft.
'We walked into this courtyard and there were women weaving altogether and kids running around, and it was just such a beautiful moment. It really took me to the core of everything.'
In the months following her experience, Tababra was encouraged to see a rise in popularity of baskets within interior design but was frustrated to often recognise Senegalese weaving patterns in many high street products, but see no reference to the origin of the design and the story of the craft which had been passed down from generation to generation.
La Basketry was born in May 2017 as a simple online shop with a small collection of six products. The brand quickly gained traction and was featured in national publications such as the Metro and Stylist Magazine within the first three months.
For Tabara, basket weaving is an integral part of her Senegalise heritage and therefore storytelling has always been at the heart of La Basketry. In 2019 she published her first book 'Baskets' which focuses on basket weaving, from its origins to creative projects to make your own creations. Her book has since been published in six different languages.
As a keen weaver herself, Tabara shifted her focus in early 2020 to inspiring people to craft at home through her weaving kits. She has engaged with her community through a number of online classes throughout the pandemic in order to help make the art of weaving more accessible and provide a therapeutic and creative outlet.
La Basketry will be launching their third collection in October 2020 and Tabara hopes to return to delivering smaller, in-person workshops very soon.
Visit WebsitePublished: 15 September 2020