Nantucket Baskets in COLOR!
Shop our playful new collection of painted wicker carryalls—inspired by the historic Nantucket Lightship basket—in all shapes, sizes and hues!
Hi everyone! This weekend we’re excited to share a little project we’ve been working on inspired by the iconic Nantucket Lightship Basket, a small and sturdy vessel handwoven from rattan and cane with a distinctive wooden base first created in the 19th century on Nantucket, where they became a special souvenir of a visit to the island. Lightship Baskets—which were indeed woven by lightship keepers to pass the time in the earlier years—are now highly sought after, especially those created by famous makers (including this tiny antique gem by the legendary José Formoso Reyes that is available on our site!) On a quick trip to Paris this spring, we stumbled upon a coffee table book in Japanese on the Lightship Basket at Ogata, a boutique in the Marais that sells beautiful things for the home and table from all over Japan. It got us thinking about how exciting seeing a traditional American craft, especially one so close to our hearts, through a new lens can be.
We decided to snap up antique nesting baskets woven in the spirit of an open-top Nantucket Lightship Basket—but without the historical significance or eye-watering price tag—and saturate them in colors from the Nantucket Historic District Commission’s strict list of exterior paint hues deemed acceptable for Nantucket’s houses. Our co-founder and resident artist Courtney Broadwater chose four shades from the list of 12—Nantucket Red, Nantucket Blue, Hussey Green and White—and hand-painted a limited number of multi-sized storage and carrying baskets that are perfect for all your summer adventures. There are tiny ones that will fit just a lipstick, purse-sizes ones that are perfect for sweet summer dinners and cocktails and larger carryalls that are ideal to take to the farmer’s market, the beach (with a good book) or to tote as a hostess gift with a nice bottle of bub tucked inside. We’ve been accessorizing ours with a vintage Liberty scarf tied around the handles and a fabulous Dunhill Aquarium bangle or cocktail ring.
Because each basket is antique and individually painted by hand, you can expect imperfections and a patina to develop, which we hope you’ll carry with carefree joy!
Top to bottom: Nantucket Red Bell Basket, Nantucket Red Medium Basket 3, Nantucket Red Medium Basket 1, Nantucket Red Medium Basket 2, Nantucket Red Square Basket
Left to right: White Large Basket, White Tiny Basket, White Small Basket, White Tall Basket, White Extra Small Basket
Left to Right: Charcoal Large Round Basket, Nantucket Red Medium Basket, White Small Basket
Left to right: Nantucket Blue Small Basket, Charcoal Large Round Basket, Charcoal Large Oval Basket, Nantucket Blue Large Basket
Left to right: White Small Basket, White Extra Small Basket, White Tiny Basket
Left to right: Charcoal Large Oval Basket, Nantucket Blue Small Basket, White Extra Small Basket.
Visit us at our shop www.thisistheperfect.com for our collections of vintage clothing and antique treasures for the home! And our ShopMy page for items from past newsletters all in one shoppable place.
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BTW: we may get a small commission from some of the things you buy here. No extra cost to you! Thank you so much for supporting our work.
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Love these!!!
Gorgeous!