Our Dedication to Mastery
At Somerset Willow, quality craftsmanship and attention to detail are of the utmost importance. Founded by father and son, valuable basket-making skills have been passed down through four generations of the family business. In the beginning it was Edward’s 40 years of basket-weaving expertise and Aubrey’s background in carpentry that strengthened their shared commitment to exceptional quality, setting the foundation for everything we create.
Every Somerset Willow Coffin is crafted with this same dedication to this excellence that has been honed for over 65 years. The quality at every stage throughout its production is important to us.
We take great care to ensure the raw materials our craftsman use match our high expectations of standards, from the quality willow to the solid oak nameplates, bevelled less than a mile from our workshops. We’re meticulous about what features in all our products.
Our coffin design has also been perfected and refined many times over the years to ensure we bring families the very best of our craftsmanship and innovation. It’s a priority for us to provide quality from a structural point of view, as well as aesthetically.
One of the most charming features of our coffins is our plaited edge which uses one of the more complex skills in a basket weaver’s toolkit. This is woven using four strands, each made up of three willow wands, that are interlaced to create a beautiful finish. The coffin sides themselves are woven using two different weave patterns to achieve our distinctive design: whaling, which adds structure and strength, and randing, which fills the majority of the basket. Coloured bands and handles can be added into the weave during this stage, introducing colour to the aesthetic.
From a structural perspective, we use double staking in our weave, which increases the strength of our coffins. These stakes form the shape of the basket and are the structure around which the willow is woven, making them integral to the quality of the coffin. Our cremation-friendly solid plywood bases provide extra support and ease of use, allowing our coffins to lift to 30 stone.
Each coffin is thoughtfully finished with solid beechwood toggle and loop closures, a natural calico cotton liner and a solid oak nameplate engraved in-house. The final element added is our signature leather badge, which we see as a hallmark of our quality craftsmanship.
We are fastidious with ensuring every coffin is checked for quality before it leaves our premises. Every craftsman‘s work is checked by the master craftsman, and then once again at the packing and dispatch stage to ensure every detail is at its best. You can also rest assured that all our coffins conform to strict industry standards and carry an FFMA approval stamp confirming that we have achieved FFMA’s Coffin Certification Standard.
Our dedication to serving families with the very best craftsmanship is at the core of our values and has been since 1959. We are custodians responsible for upholding these long-held skills and make it a part of everything we do at Somerset Willow.