About this episode
Chapters 00:00 – Intro 00:14 – Baskets 101: The Feel Test 01:01 – Machine Cuts vs. Drawing Knife Splits 03:18 – Why Smaller Baskets Matter 04:16 – The Basket That Makes You Say Oh 05:11 – Dating Old Baskets by Feel and Wear 07:50 – How to Know When Not to Pass It Up 15:09 – The Best Basket You’ll Ever See 18:10 – A Known Maker vs Unknown Maker 19:15 – Who Got You Into Baskets? 23:05 – Sully Joins to Talk About Wild Marvin Bailey Jugs 28:20 – Lanier Meaders and the Rock Teeth Secret 36:43 – Billy Ray Hussey’s Rare Medusa Lion 38:16 – Why the Buyer Might Be More Rare Than the Basket 42:30 – Buying Smart: What to Watch for at Festivals 46:16 – When We Say Hickory, We Mean Catawba In this episode of House of Folk Art, Matt sits down with Kyle and Sully for what might be the most passionate basket tutorial ever recorded. What starts as a crash course in old basket identification turns into a hands-on showcase of Southern craftsmanship, as Matt works through a table of examples, building toward what he calls “the best basket you’ll ever see in your life.” They cover how to judge quality by feel, how to spot hand-cut splints, and why tiny baskets often show off the most skill. Along the way, they talk pricing, provenance, and the influence of makers like Mary Causby. One standout piece is so refined Matt says no museum has one better. Later, Sully joins as the crew pivots to pottery. First up is a Marvin Bailey jug covered in mini face jugs. Then comes Lanier Meaders’ “rock teeth” and a wild Medusa lion jug by Billy Ray Hussey. These pieces spark conversations about auction value, collecting philosophies, and the rarest thing in the game, a serious buyer. This episode is a reminder that collecting is about seeing. A great basket doesn’t demand attention, it earns it. You feel it in the tension of the weave, the worn handle, the balance of form and function. It’s not just old. It’s honest. What Matt, Kyle, and Sully uncover here is reverence. Reverence for skill, for patience, for the invisible decisions a maker made that shaped something lasting. And when the right piece lands in the right hands, no one needs to explain why it matters. You just know.