Steen Madsen

Steen Madsen discovered basket making through his early love of old handcrafts such as Stone Age flint knapping, rope making, hide tanning, and wood carving. In 1979, he was introduced to basket making while working with 7500-year-old Danish Stone Age eel traps made of willow. Soon he was growing his own willow and teaching workshops in basket making.

For the last few decades, Steen has been a full time basket maker and basketry teacher. He keeps busy growing willow, teaching basket making around Europe and the US, educating basketry apprentices, and weaving baskets for museums, film and theatre productions, and collectors. Steen has also written two books about basket making: Flet med Pil, a beginner book in Danish and Baskets with Corners about square basket work, which has been translated to English.

He is an avid collector of old baskets and his collection of several hundred extends from 1840-1965. This is all part of his searching for knowledge about the cultural history of baskets and basket making, which could lead to his third book. He lives and works in Ringsted, Denmark.