Photos by Angela Shoemaker
Woman of the Cloth
Maria Tinnell’s baskets are made from long linen thread, which "has the ability to be both tough and durable, yet soft and tactile," she says. Her five-inch-tall, five-inch-diameter Purple Basket With Lid ($118) and her 16-inch-tall, six-inch-diameter Spring Onion Basket ($225) were inspired by Native American basketry. The price range for Tinnell’s art is $61-$245. To purchase her work, visit her website at www.mtbaskets.freewebspace.com. Occasionally she has items on consignment at Two Chicks in a Cottage, 11601 Main St. in Middletown (245-6695).
Fruited, But Not Plain
Travel the world by way of your taste buds with this fireside-style "Garden Basket" from Paul’s Fruit Market, overflowing with such items as Washington state apples, California oranges, Oregon pears, Cabot Vermont Cheddar cheese, Marker’s Mark steak sauce, Starr Ridge cocktail crackers, and European sweets by Lindt, Guylian and Simpkins. The basket costs $100. Other Paul’s (www.paulsfruit.com) fruit and product-filled baskets are $30-$150 and are available at Paul’s 4946 Brownsboro Road store (426-5059) and three other Paul’s locations.
Lotsa Goodies
Baskets at the international food shop Lotsa Pasta, 3717 Lexington Road (896-6361, www.lotsapastalouisville.com), are all made to order, giving you the chance to choose some of your favorite things. Partners Vicki Hale and John Hale know we salivate for food we discovered on our travels (for me, it’s Montgomery Cheddar from England) or have eaten in our far-away homelands. This $110 basket includes such globetrotting items as Bellino cannoli shells, English Stilton blue cheese, Armstrong garlic-stuffed olives, Volpi salami, Sun Valley smoked trout, Lady Walton’s chocolate wafers and Lotsa Pasta’s own extra-virgin olive oil infused with rosemary and oregano. Gift baskets start at $35.
Vantastic!
Here’s a new way to get your vegetables — the "Veggie Vantasia" basket from Incredibly Edible Delites, 9447 Westport Road in Westport Plaza (339-8089, www.fruitflowers.com), which is artistically composed of carrots, sweet peppers and cauliflower, garnished with cherry tomatoes, radishes and turnip "daisies." The various sizes of Veggie Vantasia serve 10 to 100 people and cost $70-$220. The purveyor also features "floral" bouquets made out of cut fruit.
Kaleido-Basket
"Function is not my concern; these are sculptures," says Shepherdsville craftsman (and Smithsonian Institution contributor) Dennis Shaffner, whose basketBOWLs and BUTTONbowls are made from rattan, honeysuckle and akebia vines that start out as a light color but darken as they age. Multicolored vintage and new buttons, attached with waxed Irish linen, embellish this example, which measures eight inches tall by 16 inches in diameter and sells for $100. To purchase his baskets, contact Shaffner at (502) 543-9280 or visit his website at www.magnusonart.com. The price range for his work is $30-$300. His art is also available in the sales gallery of the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main St.
Waste-Not Basket
Berea College has a long tradition of craft production, including basketry, part of the school’s woodcraft program. This 13-inch-tall and 12-inch-diameter "Berea Basket," made of Kentucky hardwoods (cherry rim and base, maple spokes) by work/study students, is one of the program’s classic items. It also comes in black walnut and maple and costs $66 (other baskets are $68-$96). Berea College Student Craft items can be found locally at Berea Crafts in the Galt House Hotel, 140 N. Fourth St. (589-3707).
