Richard Ede

Richard Ede is one of the last remaining willow pot makers. As far as he knows, he's the only one left that still makes them and uses them for lobster and crab fishing. Willow rods, known as withies, mainly the viminalis variety, were cut from the time that the leaves fell in autumn until the sap rose again in the spring. In Cornwall tamarisk, elm and hazel were also used. Crab pot making was winter work for fishermen, working at home or in the net lofts.