Traditional Guernsey willow fishing baskets, including ponier à cous, courges and crab pots, will be on display at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show as part of the Raymond Evison Clematis exhibit.
Raymond Evison CBE has been researching, breeding and developing the world’s best clematis for over sixty years. Chelsea Gold Medal Winners, Raymond Evison Clematis, will be showcasing their stunning clematis in the Grand Pavilion once again this year. They will present a Guernsey coastal inspired display featuring wooden boats draped with their remarkable flowering clematis. A fisherman’s hut, traditional fishing baskets, vraic pannier and crab pots will serve as a backdrop to these stunning flowering plants, celebrating island life and Guernsey’s local fishing traditions.
My dad, Max Gaudion, and I are delighted to have been invited to make a selection of willow fishing baskets for Raymond Evison Clematis’ 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibit.
These heritage baskets are unique to the Bailiwick of Guernsey islands. You will see Guernsey ponier à cou - traditionally used for fishing or foraging for ormers on the shoreline. Ormers are a Guernsey shellfish delicacy which may only be gathered from January to April, at the full or new moon, and the following two days. Today, these baskets have many uses from carrying goods to storage and decoration. The unique, utilitarian design has a wire frame and rope strap. They are beautiful working baskets built for longevity.
Also on show will be courges (Guernsey patois, the ‘r' is silent, pronounced like the French ‘rouge’), traditional Guernsey fishing baskets used for holding sandeels.
Crab pots are used to trap crabs, lobsters and crayfish on the sea bed and will also feature in the show. The making of Guernsey willow crab pots is now on the Heritage Craft’s Red List of endangered heritage crafts. Plastic and metal alternatives have taken over the use of willow pots in local commercial fishing, as they have elsewhere.
The vraic gathering pannier will also make an appearance. Vraic panniers were worn by Guernsey donkeys on a packsaddle to hold the seaweed from the island’s beaches. These are the first baskets of this type to be made in recent times, based on historical examples from the National Trust of Guernsey, Folk and Costume Museum collection.
The crab pots and courges on display are made by Max Gaudion. Max Gaudion is a retired local craftsman and part-time fisherman who made all of his own willow crab pots, ponier à cous and courges, as learned from his great uncle Wilfred Gaudion. Although retired from fishing, Max is still making, demonstrating and selling crab pots and fishing baskets, as well as running workshops in Guernsey to share his specialist knowledge in his spare time.
The ponier à cous and vraic gathering pannier on display are made by me, Claire Gaudion. I work as a professional basket maker. Continuing the family heritage craft I’ve learnt from my Dad.