Welcome to Ruth’s Sweet Designs
Ruth Johnson is my name, and Charleston, SC, is my home. Basket weaving has been in our family for three generations—me and my three sisters, Martha, Sarah, and Louise, continue to sew. As a child, my mother and grandmother would sell their baskets at the basket stand along Highway 17 every day, and I would sit with them, learning. As I got older, I continued to weave with my mother after school. A lot of my inspiration comes from everything she taught me. I also get inspired by other objects not made of sweetgrass, which makes me want to try the design and make it my own. When I’m sewing, I like to work outside, with music or with my siblings to compare ideas and talk. I weave to keep the history alive, keep the culture going, and show the next generation something different and beautiful. I’m proud to create pieces of art—made by hand to last a lifetime.
History of the Gullah Weavers:
This heirloom piece is woven in the distinct sweetgrass weaving style of the Gullah community in South Carolina which is rooted in West African craft tradition. This basket weaving tradition dates back to the 1700s and is considered to be the oldest African craft tradition in the United States, but it remains largely invisible within the national craft landscape.
Over the last 10 generations, the Gullah weavers have carried on the craft traditions that were native to their African homelands to create baskets featuring exquisite patterns and intricate weaves, preserving traditional styles such as those once used to winnow rice. They use a combination of locally harvested sweetgrass, pine needles, bulrush, and palmetto to weave their unique pieces. Each weaver prides themselves on being intuitive weavers, each having their own unique and signature weaving styles, meaning no two baskets are ever alike. Their craft tradition is embedded into the cultural and physical landscape of this community which continues to reside in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and the nearby barrier islands.