About Whale Tail Weaving and The Nantucket Lightship Basket Tradition

In the early to mid-1800s, Nantucket Island in Massachusetts was considered the whaling capital of the world. During this time, lightships acted as mobile navigation stations, upon which the sailors manning them would also have to live for long stretches of time. To pass the time, sailors would often carve whale bone and weave baskets. When the baskets came home to Nantucket, they started out as purely utilitarian, and grew to become family heirlooms, passed down through generations.

Today, Whale Tail Weaving honors that history and offers modern pieces of wearable art that hold true to America’s whaling and lightship history. Nantucket basket bracelets, necklaces, and accessories are hand-made in the classic tradition.

“I have vivid images of our kitchen counter growing up, where there was often an upside-down hard wooden mold with lots of thin wooden “fingers” sticking out, untamed and spread wide open. Every week, especially throughout Cape Cod winters, my mom would gather up her supplies and visit her 'Basket Ladies'. These Basket Lady sessions intrigued me, but it wasn’t until much later that I learned to weave myself. I now have a sense of how important that activity was to her — socially, as well as for the satisfaction and joy of creating something beautiful with your own hands.

Today, I weave in my mother’s footsteps to keep this American art alive.” -Bridget Wiatrowski, Whale Tail Weaving

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