Many of us know Margaret Bickenheuser, who lives in Pike Township, as a nice lady who makes baskets. Little did we know that her skills are nationally recognized and she has numerous baskets and caned chairs in museums and curated collections.
Margaret comes by these skills naturally. Her grandmother Bickenheuser was well-known in Indiana for her caned chairs, while her husband, Margaret’s grandfather, was a stone mason and stone craftsman who worked on the National Cathedral.
Margaret’s mother was a seamstress in Grove City, and her grandmother Preuss on her mom’s side of the family was a furrier in Louisville.
They all came to America at a time when officials at Ellis Island were asking, “What skills do you bring to the United States.” Bickenheuser’s ancestors brought old world talents needed in the new world.
When Margaret was 12 years old, she was gifted a chair from a 1740 House in Sturbridge Village. The antique chair needed caning, and her father insisted that she learn how to make the repair as his mother had done.
She immediately fell in love with the “seat weaving” and used her skills to avoid babysitting. Her parents were antique dealers, and she would buy a chair with broken cane seat for a dollar at an auction and sell it at a profit from their store.
Over the years she learned a variety of seat weaving patterns like lacing, handcane, herringbone quill, rushwork, etc. She buys her supplies from a store in Long Island and occasionally from Royal Wood Limited in Mansfield. Her skills have been in demand for years, and she always has a waiting list.
Basketmaking was a natural progression from the caning, and she has enjoyed recreating baskets from long-forgotten illustrations or antique baskets. Most popular is her chicken basket, a one-of-a-kind, historical basket that few know how to make.
She has also added the repair of antique, not modern, wicker furniture to her repertoire.
Keepsake wicker Christmas ornaments have been a significant part of her sales as well. In fact one of her ornaments was selected to grace the National Christmas Tree in 2016.
“It has been a life of learning,” she said.
Over the years she has worked with the Ohio Historical Society, now Ohio Historical Connection, and has sold baskets and caned chairs at Schoenbrunn Village, The 18th Century Market Fair at Locust Grove near Louisville, Mount Vernon, The Fair at New Boston, Johnson Farm in Piqua, Wool Gathering at Youngs’ Dairy, Fort Niagara in New York, Fort Fredrick in Maryland, Historic Harmony Wiehnachtsmarkt and ChristKindl Market in Pennsylvania.
Repair of antique chairs and custom basket work keep her busy, and she doesn’t go to as many events as she used to because she has so much custom work to do at home.
Samples of Margaret Bickenheuser’s work can be viewed at mylittlebasketshop.com or Ole Chairs to Mend on Facebook. Those seeking her assistance with seat weaving repairs should contact her at mylittlebasketshop@yahoo.com or at 937.964.8511. Her next event in this area is The Fair at New Boston, Aug. 31 and Sept 1.
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