Simon Cooper is a basket maker, based in rural Perthshire, who goes by the name of The Bumbling Basketeer. Following a year of training with Loran Singleton, one of the UK’s finest guardians and practitioners of split wood basketry, Simon embarked on his own journey into weaving with oak and hazel. Whilst on the course, he honed his oak swill technique with the guidance of Owen Jones. We wholeheartedly admire Simon’s dedication to resuscitating this heritage form of craft, which had all but disappeared from Scotland. Today, Simon harvests and processes his own oak and hazel, which he transforms into baskets of varying scale and function. Each is an exercise in meticulous preparation requiring time, care and great skill, to become a basket or vessel of wonderful quality and individual character. Oak swill baskets used to be known as ‘tatties’ in Scotland, typically used to carry potatoes. A critically endangered craft, Simon is the first swill practitioner in Scotland for a century.
What value does craft have in daily life?
Craft, for me, is a form of grounding. In a world that can feel loud, fast, and disconnected, making something slowly and by hand brings back a sense of rhythm and presence. A handmade basket carries story, skill, time, and place. It’s practical—but also personal. It invites us to slow down, to notice, to remember that the things we use every day can be beautiful, enduring, and made with care.
In my own life, basketry has helped me reconnect to myself, to the land, and to a way of working that’s more human. I hope that comes through in the baskets I make.
What does Scottishness mean to you?
Though I wasn’t born in Scotland, I’ve lived here for nearly 30 years. My wife is Scottish, my children are Scottish, and our lives are deeply rooted in this place. So while I carry other beginnings, my home—and the heart of my creative practice—is here.
For me, Scottishness is less about birthplace and more about belonging. It’s found in the rhythms of woodland and weather, in the quiet resilience of craft traditions, and in the deep respect for materials shaped by land and time. My work as a basketmaker is part of a wider attempt to honour and revive heritage crafts, particularly oak swill basketry—a practice that, until recently, had vanished from Scotland for over a century.
