Labor of Love

Kim Shaver learned how to weave baskets from her mother Stephanie Lindzey. She also harvests willow from her families ranch near Centennial, Wyo. “The only expense that goes into making these baskets is money for gas,” explained Shaver. During the pandemic, Shaver made weaving baskets more than just a hobby and started giving baskets away to people in the Laramie community. “It’s more a labor of love rather than a business” says Shaver.

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Shaver picks wild willow on her family’s ranch near Centennial, Wyoming. The streams that flow through the property provides growth to many ecological communities and habitats such as the willow flats in which Shaver picks from.

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The vegetation in the brush can be hard to navigate through. It can also be harmful, with the certain barbs and spines that are produced by the vegetation, if not using the proper equipment.

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Willow flats can be vast areas or quite small, but they all need one thing to exist and that is a water source. In the winter, these water sources freeze up, making it easier for Shaver to harvest materials.

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Shaver and her parents talk while heading back to the main house. Today was the last day of harvesting willow until Autumn.

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Labor of Love

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