Tokens of luck, love and faith, using locally harvested straw.
Lucy is one of the very few remaining straw workers keeping this rural tradition alive. Her harvest tokens, corn dollies and glory braids are each made by hand, and every purchase helps sustain an endangered craft.
Endangered craft
As per the Red List of Endangered Crafts
Made in Essex, England
In Lucy's workship
Made using heritage techniques
The same way our ancestors made them.
Our harvest tokens, made by Lucy, are hand plaited using heritage straw, and decorated with ribbon.
There's a long history to these harvest token... Some say that they would have been made and worn at the annual hiring fair by agricultural workers as a badge of their trade, advertising that they were available to hire to work the fields.
Others say that, at the end of the harvest, a young farm lad may have made one of these little tokens as a gift for his sweetheart. If she reciprocated his affections, she would wear it over her heart a symbol of their love.
We've added ribbon, do you can hang it as a decoration.
Size: Circa 12cms with a 6cm ribbon loop (laid flat)
Please note that these are made out of natural materials. There may be slight variations in colour and size, and tone of ribbon according to availability.
Made to order, please allow 5-10 working days plus delivery time.
About the maker: Lucy Hook-Child, Corn Dolly Folklore
Lucy has a BA (Hons) in 3D Design Crafts and is a member of Straw Craftsmen. She has been researching and working with straw since 2023 after discovering that Corn Dolly Making and Straw Work are on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts.
Lucy grew up in rural north Essex and has a family history along the Essex Suffolk border where there is also a history of corn dolly making and straw plaiting for hat making (two of her 3rd great grandaunts were straw plaiters in Belchamp Walter in the mid 1800s).
Having fond memories of corn dolly making as a child, Lucy intends to share and teach these skills around East Anglia and recently started hosting 'Straw Club' at the East Anglian Folklore Centre. You will also find her at local Craft Shows, Plough Days and Steam Threshing Days.
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