WNC Craft Futures Cohort
2025
Sarah Lasswell creates natural burial vessels of woven willow, poplar, cotton, and wool on her farm in the Appalachian foothills of Western North Carolina. She welcomes clients as active participants in the creation of their or their loved one’s casket or burial tray, incorporating their personal mementos, design inspiration, stories, and hands-on participation. The opportunity to be involved in the process offers people a beautiful and healing experience, and the resulting burial vessels reflect the beauty of both the natural world and the unique beings they carry home into the earth.
Sarah learned to weave caskets through an apprenticeship with Mary Lauren Fraser in 2020, and continues to support the development of the craft by offering internships and apprenticeships in both weaving and willow cultivation on her farm. Sarah is an active advocate for green burial and community-based death care. She has an MPH in Community Health, is a certified thanatologist, and serves as executive director of The Sophia Center for Life Studies, a nonprofit organization that provides education and support for natural burial and caring for our own after death.
Selected works
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67 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 785-1357 | info@centerforcraft.org
Gallery Hours: Tues–Sat, 10–6 get more info
Gallery Hours: Closed — Reopening Fall 2019
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