Cristina Fonseca, Basketry
Cristina began as a self-taught artisan and has been working professionally since 1984. She creates innovative objects, with a contemporary aesthetic, using bunho, rush marrow, wicker, and chestnut wood. She divides her time between producing and selling her pieces, and training and carrying out hands-on workshops.
- Name of Craft in the local language
- Cestaria em bunho, junco e vime
- Type of Craft
- Basketry in bulrush, rush marrow and wicker
- Knowledge Holder
- Cristina Fonseca
- Location, Website
- Sintra, Portugal; Link to website
- Contact
- cristinadafonseca@gmail.com, +351 967 003 651
- Type of Business
- Newly founded; manufacture undertaken at home
- Year of Establishment
- 1984
- Successors
- No
- Workshop and sales space
- 4 m²
- Materials
- Bulrush, rush marrow, esparto and wicker
- Technology / Tools / Machines
- Scissors, pocket knife, needles, pruning shears
- Techniques / Processes
- Weaving, braiding, cordage, ponto de capacho, spiral coiling
- Members / Employees
- 1
- Apprentices
- No but gives training often
- Education of the Craftsperson
- Mostly self-taught, but has done and continues to invest in training in different materials and techniques, especially workshops by the spanish master basket weaver Carlos Fontales
- Best-selling product
- Lampshades
- Average time of production
- 2 hours
- Average price per item
- €15 - €30 (unique pieces have different prices)
Artisan’s certification from CEARTE
Cristina began as a self-taught artisan and has been working professionally since 1984, at a time when basketry practice wasn’t very open to new women.
The interest and admiration for the craft, combined with a sudden need to work from home, were the basic ingredients to take on this art. Since she was forced to basically start learning on her own, her approach to basketry is also quite free and experimental. She creates innovative objects, with a contemporary aesthetic, using bulrush, rush marrow, wicker, and chestnut wood, and mixing different fibers and techniques in one piece – be they of artistic or more utilitarian nature. The material follows the object. She divides her time between producing and selling her pieces, and training and carrying out hands-on workshops.
Cristina’s workshop is located within her home in a 200 year old house in Sintra, a very humid countryside area outside of Lisbon and close to the ocean. She has a space for the storage of materials she buys or wild harvests, and the workshop area is around 4 m², with good natural lighting. As it is in a fairly urbanised area, Cristina doesn’t have space or conditions to grow her own materials. Her workshop is also closed to the public, and is only visited very rarely, by appointment.
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According to the plant she is weaving with she uses different techniques.
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Initially Cristina dedicated herself to utilitarian and decorative basketry for interior spaces.
Especially lampshades in rush marrow and occasionally rush marrow furniture but from 2012 onwards Cristina has dedicated herself mainly to making small series and unique pieces, although still very much focused on lighting.
