For nearly three decades, Bridgeport High School teacher Marsha Coakley has been weaving baskets. She first learned the skill while attending a class at the Barbour County 4-H Extension Office when she and her family moved to the area after her husband returned from Desert Storm. Immediately, she was hooked and has continued to learn new methods, materials, and the history of different types of baskets.

 

Coakley has made countless baskets over the years, many of which are used for their intended purposes, such as herb gathering, egg baskets, or market totes. Others are cherished keepsakes displayed in the homes of their recipients.  

 

“Many of my baskets have made it all around the world,” said Coakley.  “It’s pretty neat to know that a little piece of me is in homes around the globe.”

 

Over the years, Coakley has taught basket weaving courses in Bridgeport, Fairmont, and through the Appalachian Arts Curriculum for the West Virginia Department of Education. When COVID-19 required her to isolate in March, she decided to expand her hobby into a small business.  

 

“My friends and family encouraged me to start my business and I have already received many orders and positive feedback,” she said. “Friends and family have purchased items after hearing about my business and I have shipped as far as the West Coast and as close as my own neighborhood.”

 

WovenLoveByMarsha is the name of Coakley’s Etsy shop, which reflects how she feels when she is making her one-of-a-kind creations.  

 

“I love making baskets,” she said.  “The joy it brings me personally to have created something is equal to the joy I see in people when they become a proud owner of that creation.”