Cream scalloped bowls, set of six
Six deep bowls with a scalloped rim and forty years of wear along the edge.
$30
Coir market basket
$48
Coconut husk, soaked three months, twisted into rope and coiled into a basket.
Materials & dimensions
- Two-ply coir rope
- Cotton stitching
36 × 28 × 36 cm · 780 g
Care
Rinse and dry upright in shade if it gets muddy. It will shed a little fibre for the first week. Do not put it away damp for weeks at a time — coir is fine wet, less fine wet and sealed in a cupboard.
Shipping & duties
Standard $48
Express $91.20
North America · 780 g
Free standard shipping over $250.
Import duties and taxes are set by United States, not by us. They are not included above, and your carrier collects them on delivery.
The story
Coir is the fibre between the shell of a coconut and its outer skin. To get at it the husks are sunk in a tank of brackish water for about three months until the soft pith rots and lets go. Then they are beaten with a mallet, combed out, and the fibre is twisted between the palms into a two-ply rope. Chandra does the twisting sitting down, a metre or so at a time, and it makes a sound like a broom.
The basket is coiled: the rope spirals outward from a small disc at the base and each round is stitched to the one before it. There is no frame, no mould and no glue. The shape comes entirely from how hard the maker pulls each round, which is why a coiled basket made by two different people looks like two different objects.
Coir is the only common natural fibre that gains strength when wet, which is why the island has made ship rope out of it for two thousand years. A wet market basket is a stronger market basket.
Chandra Kumari
Kosgoda, Southern Province · working since 1997
