Ella Merriman, In The Frame

Meet Ella Merriman, the artist behind our winter window installation. Practicing the endangered craft of rush basketry, Ella’s work explores the disconnection between humans and nature. We visited Ella at her studio in Bloomsbury’s Cockpit Yard to learn more about the practice of rush basketry and how she is reviving and reimagining it.

For those that might not know you, please can you introduce yourself?

My name is Ella Merriman, I'm an artist and designer, and I focus on the endangered craft of rush basket weaving. 

How did you first discover your love of basketry and weaving?

I trained as a furniture maker and product designer, and then I worked in upholstery, fashion, leather, and even ceramics. But I always felt frustrated when I couldn't source my own materials, so I was looking for a craft where I could be involved in the whole process. I did a short course in rush basketry, and I became obsessed. Now I harvest my own rush, I dry it myself, and then I weave with it, and that's a huge part of why I love it so much.

Rush is your material of choice. Can you tell us more about why you like working with this plant?

I love working with Rush because I just think it's such an underutilised and exciting material. The fact that it grows in the UK firstly, you can harvest it yourself, and it's not really used for anything else. It's generally seen as a weed by a lot of people - that just makes me love it even more.

And then there’s the amazing colours, and the fact that every single stem is different, so whenever you're weaving, you have to really respect the material and think about the fact that every stem is different and allow for it. That makes me really happy.

It means you have to be more creative because you're working with something that isn't perfect and isn't made in a factory; it's actually this completely sustainable, beautiful plant that can teach you quite a lot. I think I've learned that I need to be in a certain mindset to weave well; you need to have a very deep respect for the material, which I think is a really powerful thing.

In daily life, what inspires you to create, and how do you approach new work?

I think I've always found inspiration in things that annoy me often, so it's like the little weird things in a day that don't really work that well; they make me think of how different things could be and how I'd like to make things differently. I also love reading and researching. I love looking at traditional weaving techniques, particularly. Basketry is one of the oldest crafts in the world, so there is so much amazing tradition, and I think so much of my process is learned by looking at the tradition and then working out how I can use that and respect it, but in a new way that makes this material really relevant today. I think that is where the power of it lies, I guess.

Your work beautifully blends form and function, turning everyday items into something special. Do you have a favourite item to make?

My favourite type of item to make is generally something I haven't made before. I love it when someone comes to me with an idea, and then you go, ‘Oh, OK, how are we going to do it?’. That’s part of why I'm very excited about making this wreath for MONC, because I haven't done anything like this before and what an amazing space to fill. We're using the plant in a really exciting new way, and I think it looks very full of life.

How long have you been based here at Cockpit Bloomsbury? We imagine it’s quite an inspiring place to be.

I've been based at Cockpit Bloomsbury for 14 months. I first came here because I won the Worshipful Company of Basket Makers Award in 2024. So I got to come here for a year for free, which was insane, and I've just met the most wonderful people. I think being around people who make a good, sustainable living from being a maker is very inspiring, so it's just such a nice environment to be surrounded by, and being in central London is quite mad.

What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?

Every day is a little bit different, but in the morning, I basically always have to choose my Rush for the day. I take from a bolt of Rush, and I pick all the stems that I want to use, and then I have to mellow them. I spray them with water and wrap them in a sheet, then leave them for 1-2 hours, until they soften. That's when I do all my boring emails, eat my porridge and have coffee. Then I can start weaving.

Finally, a question we ask everyone featured ‘In The Frame’ - which three guests, past, present, future or fiction would you invite to a dinner party?

Keep up to date with Ella's work by following here on Instagram at @studiomerriman