Tomáš Mikolaj
The life story of master basket maker Ján Zeman of Stará Turá can be an inspiration to further enthusiasts of this beautiful craft. A charismatic person, Ján Zeman, is a train dispatcher by profession but, as he says, his job is there side by side with basket making. In fact, he is counting the days now to reach the early retirement age. It’s not that he wouldn’t like his job of a train dispatcher, but basket making has, somehow, attracted him more and, he adds immediately, without the support of his wife his magical world of wickerwork wouldn’t exit. He started in 1992. The reason was rather prosaic – he had bought a cow and needed a basket to keep the mash. A colleague, also a railwayman, had made him one, and this experience captured him. He planted his first willow tree twig in 1994. Until then, he had apparently had no idea that willow tree twigs can be planted. A famous tutor of wickerwork courses Ján Zeman shared all the joys and worries of a master basket maker’s life with us.