Mouse House by Barbara Maynard

This wonderful piece of work won a National Federation of Women's Institutes Design Award and was a major attraction at the British Basket Show, a highly successful Exhibition and Selling Market staged by the Basketmakers' Association in The Festival Hall in 1984. Everything in the Mouse House was designed and made by Barbara Maynard herself and demonstrates the enormous range of Crafts in which she was proficient.
Barbara was the moving spirit behind the formation of the Basketmakers' Association. She, and a group of her students on her City and Guilds class at what was then the London College of Furniture, founded the BA in 1975 at a time when tools and materials were difficult to get, books were very sparse and the craft was in steep decline. The industry was losing out against competition from the Far East and the system of apprenticeship was disappearing. Through energy and foresight of the early members, which included Joy Viall, the BA grew quickly and has been a strong influence in the revival of interest in Basketmaking and its Allied Crafts and the greatly improved future for basketmakers.