Jerry Brown, Nantucket Lightship Basket Maker, Q&A for the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum

Gerald L. Brown has been making Nantucket lightship baskets for more than forty years. He learned the craft from his father, Walter R. Brown, and basket making quickly became a successful hobby. Following a layoff from General Electric in 1974, Jerry decided to try to turn this hobby into a business and making Nantucket lightship baskets has been his full-time occupation since then. For decades, Jerry’s baskets have been admired in homes, used as purses for daily errands and special events alike, and treasured as family heirlooms.
In this Q&A at the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum, Jerry shares his approach to basket making.
The Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum is now an affiliation with the Nantucket Historical Association.