Woven Forms by Cindy Gidney

At Sahara, creativity lives in the way colour is chosen, fabric is handled, windows are dressed and conversations unfold with the women who pass through our shops. Often, the people closest to us have creative lives of their own. Cindy Gidney, part of the Sahara Norwich team, is one of them.

Her raffia vessels are a reminder that craft holds the same weight as art and sculpture. Each piece is shaped by hand through coiling, stitching, and close attention to the material, carrying the trace of time, travel, memory and instinct.

This month, our Norwich boutique brings Cindy’s woven sculptures into the window as a celebration of creativity found close to home. Her pieces sit naturally alongside Sahara’s clothes, where texture, movement, individuality and craft have always mattered. 
We spoke to Cindy about raffia, travel, traditional coiling techniques, and the creative kinship between her work and Sahara.

Cindy wears: Sahara Ecru Linen T-Shirt and Linen Tulip Hem Trousers 

Can you tell us a little about how you first came to basketry and what drew you to it?

I have always been interested in making things by hand and gathering and collecting natural objects.

I come from a long line of seamstresses and have been sewing and making since I was very little.

My interest in basketry was sparked when travelling to different parts of the world and observing how basketry still remains a very important part of everyday life in many cultures, where traditional methods of basketry are still used.

What continues to hold your attention in working with natural fibres?

I am particularly interested in working with natural soft fibres as they are easier to manipulate and can be formed into all sorts of objects through a variety of techniques.

Raffia is the dried fibrous inner leaves of the Raphia Palm tree, native mainly to Madagascar. I like raffia for its strength, durability and weightlessness. I use it to weave, wrap, coil, crochet and stitch. It has a natural grassy feel, a crisp matt texture and smells amazing!

I enjoy learning new techniques and have learnt many different basketry skills from the amazing Tim Johnson in Spain. These include lattice twining, camel looping and most recently Neolithic braiding. These workshops have allowed me to experiment with all kinds of natural fibres such as cane, rush and esparto. It inspires my own practise where I hope to combine these ancient skills in a contemporary way.

What do you tend to notice or collect when you’re away? What was it about Morocco that stayed with you most strongly?

Whenever I am away I am instantly drawn to the local markets to discover what type of basketry is still currently made and used. Needless to say I have an ever expanding collection of baskets from all over the world including South America, Mexico, Indonesia and Spain.

Visiting Morocco in 2016 I was intrigued by the woven raffia shoes showing the intricate weaving work and the hidden souks selling great bundles of raffia by weight. It was then that I decided to make a really large basket to challenge my ability and packed my suitcase full. Until then I was only making smaller items.

Can you walk us through how a piece begins and how it evolves as you work?

I start from the base and stitch over a bundle of the fibres (leaflets) using a strand of raffia as the ‘thread’. Spiralling slowly around the base slowly begins to take form. This is a very intuitive process. I rarely have a precise plan as i like to let the materials speak and evolve naturally into the desired shape. I am constantly looking at the silhouette and considering where to take it. My method is self-taught as I am left handed and tend to do things differently!

You use traditional coiling techniques. What do you value about working in this way?

I love the simplicity of this technique and the continued spiralling construction to make a rigid form. 

Basketry is one of the oldest primitive crafts, preceding the weaving of cloth and building of pottery. Coiling and twining are the oldest methods of basketry using grasses and natural fibres. Baskets were essential to early civilisations for gathering and storing food and for personal items sometimes ritualistic. I enjoy making contemporary vessels that evoke the traditional methods of the past. 

Your vessels feel sculptural but also very tactile. Do you see them as functional objects, artworks, or something in between?

They are very tactile! I encourage people to pick up the work so they can feel the lightness and texture and observe the subtle details i have woven in. I suppose I do see the pieces more as artworks - i feel the larger vessels deserve to sit quietly in a place where one can fully observe their shape and detail. They can also be functional, but I like to think they are for only for items that hold meaning to the owner, which could simply be a shell, a pebble or a handwritten poem. 

I have described my pieces as ‘slowly evolved, stitch by stitch….to hide treasures and capture calm’. 

I have learnt to embrace that it takes time for my work to come into existence, and they are therefore influenced by my own experiences during that time. They are almost a form of journalling by stitch: my thoughts and meanderings silently woven within the structure. 

Do you see any connection between your work and the way Sahara approaches clothing and textiles?

I love that the Sahara ethos is inspired by the spirit of adventure and unbounded creativity. I am intrigued by early sea exploration and first voyages to unknown places. The ancient transoceanic contacts between different civilisations and cultures, primitive sea going vessels woven from reeds and rope, first encounters with the exotic-islands, reefs, shells, mangroves and palm trees. Sahara is “rooted in craft and guided by heritage”. I am very on board with that!

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We’re proud to share Cindy’s work at our Norwich boutique - every coil, stitch, and curve carries the mark of human touch. They are pieces shaped by patience and curiosity, and they remind us how much creative life exists around us. This window is a celebration of that: women making, imagining, refining, and giving form to something entirely their own.

You can see Cindy's installation at the Sahara Norwich store throughout the month of May.

Sahara Norwich
6 Orford Hill
Norwich,
NR1 3QD