Galvanized steel storage basket DICHAS

wicker

ames presents a new take on the Dichas collection, designed by Cristina Celestino: this basket now comes with a webbing made from natural wicker. The beautiful storage piece will enrich any interior with the calm beauty of its natural material, which is gently enhanced by the intricate texture of the webbing. The Dichas collection combine a simple steel frame with ornaments and a webbing woven with the roots of the Bejuco plant. In Colombia, there’s a long history of using wicker to craft the baskets for the arrieros, the coffee pickers, who use them to collect the beans on the plantations in the country’s hinterlands. The basket can be used as a smart planter or storage unit for cushions, glasses or towels. ‘With Dichas, I wanted to create a collection of versatile storage pieces that can travel through different rooms of the house – and they can even find a place outdoors.’, says the Italian designer about the series. The craftspeople in the ames ateliers apply an exceptionally intricate weaving technique to create the Dichas Natural pieces. The result is a particularly dense webbing made from the roots of the Bejuco, which wraps around the basket. This vine-like plant grows in the Eje Cafetero, the coffee-growing region of Colombia, where people use it to make baskets to collect coffee beans. The plant’s roots are dried in the sun and prepared for ten days to separate the bark from the inner, softer fibres. The artisans weave these fibres then by hand around the steel frame in a process that takes up to five days.