AFRICAN MARKET BASKET African Round Basket, 1 EA

I was looking through old order and thought "I have to leave a review for this basket!" I have several of these baskets and they are awesome! This particular basket, I've had for two years. I use these baskets! I have one in my laundry room that I use daily to carry wet clothing outside to the clothesline. I pack it heaping full of wet clothing and it is still in as great of shape as it was the day I received it. The handle is very sturdy and I've never once though there was any chance of it breaking. The little decorate ears under the handle came off, because one of my kids pulled on one until it broke so I just cut the other one off. Those little ears are just for decoration and I think I like the look of the basket better without them better. I did soak it with water in the bathtub when I first got it to help reshape it and that was an easy process and it has maintained its shape for over 2 years. I have another one of these baskets that I have full of dog toys. It looks nice sitting under my end table. It has also held up fine for several years. I love these and can't say enough good things about them. I know some people use them as decorations, but I put them through daily use. The one I use for laundry even sits outside over night sometimes because I forget to bring it in and it is still perfect. It makes me happy knowing that my purchase helps people so far away who desperately need our help. Oh, I didn't even mention that I love their look and that the weaving is really nice!

I was shopping at Chelsea Market last month and fell in love with their African Market Basket display at the front of one of their gourmet grocery stores...and unfortunately I was very limited with my shopping as I could only bring back 2 suitcases on my bus - so I had to leave the African basket behind. Thankfully I found this one and it is just as lovely - and about $10 bucks cheaper to boot!I did not love the fact that I could not choose a pattern at all - and I would like to suggest to the shippers that they at least allow the buyer to choose either "colorful" or "more neutral" - I would have preferred a more colorful basket but I also just love the one that was shipped so I will probably order another one and hope for more colors!It is extremely well made - worth every penny and I highly recommend! I will definitely buy a few more! They are great to use for gathering veggies at the garden or shopping at fleas! I also love that each one is so unique and they are certified fair-trade.

This basket is wonderful! The workmanship is so perfect, it's impressive. I was a little worried it might be hard to re-shape, so I soaked it in the bathtub, but it readily took its new form; in hindsight, I could have just sprayed it well with the shower sprayer. I have so far used it mostly on errands, and in my truck, to hold everything I pick up in town. I've ordered one as a gift for a friend, and she loves hers, too. I'd like to order another for myself (if I could justify needing another). The ONLY thing I wish, would be to have a choice in the colors. Not specifically -- I know these are varied -- but perhaps in a category, like "bright/neon", "natural/earthy". The basket I received is a beautiful mix of natural shades with a dark navy blue, and I hoped the gift I sent would also be in earth-tones. However, it was a bright pink, blue, and tan. The recipient says she loves it, but I know her choice would be more natural colors. I may try to send her another.. but having even a general choice would help.All in all, a very attractive, extremely well-made, sturdy basket... it has a slight "give", or flex, so I wouldn't put very heavy items right on the bottom, but I love mine.

I love the basket! It was even bigger than I was hoping for! Now I have a roomy basket for when I shop at the farm market, or for holding my son's toys, or for holding the food for a picnic or car trip, etc.I got a navy blue main pattern, with the minor pattern being celery green and peach orange designs.Mine arrived folded, as I expected after having read the description. It was not difficult to unfold it. CRUCIAL INFORMATION: WET the basket before you unfold it! When it is wet it becomes malleable and easy to unfold and press into a nice rounded neat shape. When it dries it is stiff and keeps the shape you choose to mold it to. When I wet it, I simply filled my bathtub partway and dipped the basket on all sides until it was totally wet. The process of reshaping it was quick and easy after that.Photos of my basket show a toothbrush and toothpaste tube inside it, to give a sense of its size.I highly recommend this product!

This basket has been on my daughter's wish list for a long time and I finally ordered her one for her birthday. This is a very well made basket and its rather big - plenty of room for baby toys which I'm sure she will use it for - it will look good in her family room. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is - you cannot choose the color, you get what they send. In my case, I got a grass green with yellow - its OK, but not my preference. On the upside, this basket comes with a really nice big colorful tag which tells about the country where the basket was made - Africa, and the people who made this basket. I went ahead and watered it down and shaped it which was quite easy to do - I made sure to keep the tag dry so when I give it to my daughter she can read about it - and it looks cool, too.