Vogue by Day, Baskets By Night
Underwater Basket Weaving's Erin Pollard on Beyoncè, weaving circles, and MTV's 'The Grind'.
I met Erin Pollard through Gigi Burris, who held up one of Erin’s baskets from her line Underwater Weaving one day and told me I had to have one. After a brief Instagram courtship, I bought a bag, which Erin messengered over with a lunch invite.
Erin’s sensibilities appeal to me. She’s just as comfortable on a fishing dock as she is in the office, clacking around Condé Nast in New York, where she works at Vogue. I told her my background was also a blend of corporate and craft—marketing, magazines, and working on an oyster farm—and we’ve been kindred spirits ever since.
Erin learned the art of basket weaving from her mother, blending a keen eye for fashion with the folksy nature of her Maine roots. These are no ordinary bags — they have the structure and heft of something designer but boast the heartbeat of being handmade.
Erin’s pieces are now available for pre-order via trunk show on Moda Operandi — included are carry bags and totes, but also chic onion baskets, a breakfast tray, and even a bicycle basket. You can order now for a handwoven beauty of your own in-hand by June.
Below, our Designer Dossier Q&A with designer and weaver Erin Pollard.
Jess Graves: Tell me something about your background that’s not in your website bio.
Erin Pollard: My childhood dream was to be on MTV’s “The Grind.” It came true when I moved to New York. During the show, I split my leather pants and ended up in the hospital after a blister from my borrowed platform rope sandals caused swelling up my leg, but it was worth it.
JG: That’s hilarious. I miss a good skinny leather pant! Let’s bring those back! How would you describe your style?
EP: Perhaps we’ll call it Contemporary Bohemian? But it changes all the time. I go with what inspires me and sparks joy. I have a corporate job but a free spirit, and I love exploring how trends move through different brands. I’m also inspired by so many decades and how style comes through them. It all makes for some interesting combinations.
JG: Speaking of decades. What music has captivated you lately?
EP: There are so many love songs from the '60s! The '80s songs named the woman they were about; I’d like more of that in today's songs. Speaking of that, “Jolene” has always been one of my favorites, and now Beyonce's version is on repeat.
JG: Oh my God, that album is so good. I love how Beyoncé turned “Jolene” from something pleading to a straight-up threat.
EP: My son and I have nightly dance parties set to Cowboy Carter.
JG: You’re a cool mom. Why weaving? I remember you telling me it had something to do with your own mom.
EP: Yes! My mom was a basket weaver and teacher in the late 80s and 90s in Maine. I found weaving as an adult (long after she retired) as a form of meditation and realized quickly that it had the power to cultivate connection and community. I believe that the basket was one of the first tools — that humans, as gatherers, were born weavers — as a means to survive. The need to weave as a creative endeavor feels more significant than me. I can only describe it as my calling, which is dramatic, but so is fashion.
JG: Fashion certainly can be dramatic. But what you do is so chill because it’s tactile. You’ve got great personal style, too. What’s in your cart right now? What should be in my cart?
EP: I love The Row’s Leddie skirt for summer. Also in my cart: Malene Birger’s Masey mules and Maria McManus’ sheer polo. Toteme has lots of great stuff right now—a flowing jersey shirtdress, these suede tie sandals, and some khaki boy pants. As far as your cart, our brown woven shopping basket!
JG: What’s your go-to look for going out to dinner?
EP: Pajamas.
JG: Hilarious. What’s your favorite New York restaurant? I’m always looking for a rec.
EP: Locanda vini e olii. The staff speaks Italian, so I pretend I’m in Milan. I like the cacio y pepe.
JG: I love this question: who is your current Instagram girl crush (or boy crush)? Who inspires you online?
EP: So many people. Heather Kemesky, Phoebe Lovatt, Emily Chan, Tamu McPherson, Sandeep Salter, Clémence Polès, Joyce Lee.
JG: Killer list of very global women. What's on your travel docket for 2024?
EP: I have basket weaving circles and workshops scheduled in Miami, The Catskills, LA, and The Cotswolds. I’m dying to teach in Mexico City and travel to Morocco, Portugal, and Ireland. Maybe someone wants to partner on a weaving world tour!
JG: I may be able to connect you with someone in Mexico City with whom you have a lot in common, wink, wink. Tell me about launching your line.
EP: I launched Underwater Weaving in the fall of ‘23 with a basket weaving class series. The term “Underwater basket weaving” started popping up in the 1950s, and some argue that it was earlier when vocational studies were introduced in education. “Underwater basket weaving” refers to university courses considered useless or supposedly absurd and the perceived decline in educational standards. There is something patriarchal about the slang, which, in some ways, fuels my ambition to grow this community.
The name also refers to our culture today. How we live, constantly bombarded by digital alerts, texts, emails, Slacks, calls, deliveries, and so on, feels like we are living underwater, trying to swim up to the surface.
Basket weaving allows me to come up for air and get lost in something divorced from my screens. I want to share that or inspire others to find their version of basket weaving.
I knew other women were interested in making baskets, but buyers started to show interest after I showed a small capsule of hats and bags in Maria McManus’s spring runway show. I sold all the baskets on my site to one interior designer for a single project! I quickly realized I could make a go of it, so I brought my mother out of retirement, and we began designing and making things together.
JG: Aside from collaborating with your mom, what is the most essential aspect of running your business?
EP: Patience. Sometimes, you have to slow down to speed up. I want things to grow organically and slowly. I like everything we do to be thoughtful and considered.
JG: How do you overcome a creative block when things are slow?
EP: I think creative blocks are as cyclical as creative explosions. I need time alone to be creative, and carving out time to see other women's work, whether fashion or art, inspires me. You have to ride the wave of both blocks and surges.
JG: That is really good advice. What's your advice for someone who finds entrepreneurship difficult or lonely?
EP: Get up early. Meditate. Be kind to yourself and stay aware of your timeline. If things aren't working, don’t hold on too tightly. Dance and shake. Be yourself.
JG: You grew up in Maine but now live in New York City. How does where you live influence your work?
EP: I spent my childhood in pre-analog Maine surrounded by craft and folk art. I spent time dance training and at my parent's restaurant — I loved all those convivial gatherings. I then moved to New York to blindly navigate fashion and publishing and my husband's work as a designer and ceramicist. I think exploring the medium through all of these different lenses is exciting and keeps me curious about what’s around the corner.
JG: I ask everyone this. Describe your perfect Sunday.
EP: I’d get up and watch the sunrise with coffee, walk down to the beach, and then head to the market to make baskets and arrange flowers until noon just for fun. My husband, Jason, would bring home two kittens as a surprise, and we’d all snuggle. I’d bake a cake with my son; a feast would be prepared with good things from our garden, and all the dishes would do themselves at the end of the night.
Tear Sheet:
Instagram: @erinjennie / @underwater_weaving
Website: www.underwaterweaving.com
Last thing you read: Don’t Bump the Glump by Shel Silverstein
Currently collecting: Old Ribbon, vintage Levi’s, old magazines, and red lipstick.
Drop a hot take: The tooth fairy is real.
Gateway drug: small Underwater Weaving tote
Yes Erin!!!!
Love Erin and this dossier 🖤