After years at goop and Vogue, Erin Pollard made what she calls a left turn, trading tight deadlines for a slower, more intentional kind of creativity. As the founder of Underwater Weaving, she makes handwoven baskets that feel both timeless and modern, designed for life and beauty in equal measure. They’ve graced runways, staircases, and farmers’ markets alike; equally at home as decor, a daily carry, or a work of art.
You will find Erin weaving alongside her mother, both in crisp white button-ups, which might be why we’ve always felt a special connection. After partnering with her for the Henry Lehr pop-up in the Hamptons, we’re thrilled to have her baskets featured throughout our new Madison Avenue flagship.
Erin is photographed wearing our Perry NYC Crewneck Tee in Black Heritage Jersey and our Catherine 29" Full-Length Favorite Sweatpant in Black Triple Fleece.
ERIN: I never set out to build a business from my creative practice. It was an immediate, deep surrender to the process. Falling in love with the work—exploring plant-based materials and weaving—was like discovering a language I knew with my hands, but hadn't yet spoken. The moment I started sharing beginner patterns, teaching, and gathering materials, the response was electric. It quickly became clear that the New York community craved an antidote to the modern-day grind, and for so many, basket weaving was the medicine we needed.
ERIN: I never set out to build a business from my creative practice. It was an immediate, deep surrender to the process. Falling in love with the work—exploring plant-based materials and weaving—was like discovering a language I knew with my hands, but hadn't yet spoken. The moment I started sharing beginner patterns, teaching, and gathering materials, the response was electric. It quickly became clear that the New York community craved an antidote to the modern-day grind, and for so many, basket weaving was the medicine we needed.
ERIN: That's the perfect question, because the answer really lies in that tension. People were surprised when I left a career as a Business Executive to become a maker, but I see my work today as a synthesis of all my past passions.
I’ve always been a student of structure and story. As a dancer growing up, it was the balance of percussive technique and lyrical expression. In publishing, it was studying fashion house codes—the deep histories that ground a brand—and the innovation that moves it forward.
The basket is the ultimate subject for this. It is our first tool, purely functional. It is also an ancient vessel– cultural. When I design, I’m interested in both its utility and its poetry. It can move between those worlds—it belongs in all of them.
ERIN: That's the perfect question, because the answer really lies in that tension. People were surprised when I left a career as a Business Executive to become a maker, but I see my work today as a synthesis of all my past passions.
I’ve always been a student of structure and story. As a dancer growing up, it was the balance of percussive technique and lyrical expression. In publishing, it was studying fashion house codes—the deep histories that ground a brand—and the innovation that moves it forward.
The basket is the ultimate subject for this. It is our first tool, purely functional. It is also an ancient vessel– cultural. When I design, I’m interested in both its utility and its poetry. It can move between those worlds—it belongs in all of them.
Erina is photographed wearing our Megan One-Size Maxi Shirtdress in Sand and the Shirley Oversized Button-Up Shirt in White Everyday Poplin.
F&E: You often weave alongside your mother (and both in a white button-up, which we love). How has that shared practice shaped your creative process?
ERIN: That shared practice is, in many ways, the entire story. My mother is the reason Underwater Weaving exists. She was a basket maker in the 80s and 90s—teaching workshops in our basement, producing a line for LL Bean, and creating and running a gift shop in Maine that celebrated local artists.
She laid the groundwork for me. When I came to the craft, I had familiarity with the materials, but it also felt as if the practice itself had been frozen in time, I was overwhelmed with excitement to reawaken it.
The beauty of Underwater Weaving Studio is our collaboration. It’s a marriage of her deep, technical mastery with my creative and community approach.. This partnership is why our products have a certain soundness, our patterns an originality, and our designs an accurate modernity. We are quite literally creating this world together.
ERIN: There's incredible satisfaction in carrying a vessel made of plants, especially when you know the maker or have made it yourself. It’s an act that feels simultaneously primordial and rebellious—a reclaiming of the female story.
It’s also a return to the very origin of the container—our human need to gather and share. Carrying a basket makes me feel grounded, rooted in a tangible, real way of life. The beautiful paradox is that it’s also just so intensely practical.
I joke that the future of handbags is 1,000 years old. To carry my day in a basket we’ve made represents a lot for me.
ERIN: There's incredible satisfaction in carrying a vessel made of plants, especially when you know the maker or have made it yourself. It’s an act that feels simultaneously primordial and rebellious—a reclaiming of the female story.
It’s also a return to the very origin of the container—our human need to gather and share. Carrying a basket makes me feel grounded, rooted in a tangible, real way of life. The beautiful paradox is that it’s also just so intensely practical.
I joke that the future of handbags is 1,000 years old. To carry my day in a basket we’ve made represents a lot for me.
Erin is photographed wearing our Perry NYC Crewneck Tee in Black Heritage Jersey and our Catherine 29" Full-Length Favorite Sweatpant in Black Triple Fleece.
ERIN: I don’t like things to be too precious. I like objects and clothes that live and breathe with my life. So often, the most beautiful things are found in nature, and in that way, there is no need to balance; they show up without much effort. Perhaps the purpose is to strip away the noise and clutter so they can be truly seen.
ERIN: I don’t like things to be too precious. I like objects and clothes that live and breathe with my life. So often, the most beautiful things are found in nature, and in that way, there is no need to balance; they show up without much effort. Perhaps the purpose is to strip away the noise and clutter so they can be truly seen.
F&E: Your mornings sound like a blend of creativity and chaos. What does an ideal morning look like for you?
ERIN: 1,000%. I am a big fan of waking early. I enjoy time to meditate and make baskets, design or write before anyone else wakes up. Morning coffee with the sunrise grounds me and sets the tone for my day. Around 7:30, the grind kicks in, and we’re scrambling to get my son to school. I start to focus on deadlines, emails, our growing team, and our partners.
F&E: You’ve mentioned that you like clothes that move. What is your go-to uniform when you’re creating?
ERIN: Because my work and life are so completely interwoven, and often I’m in very different settings (Maine, NYC) the time to really understand my personal style within the context of these places and my experiences. My "creating" uniform is simply my "living" uniform.
I love well-made garments and the creativity of putting an outfit together, but the comfort of it and how it interacts with how I move matter just as much. I’m always thinking about things like: Will these pants work on my bike? Is my sweater baggy enough to move freely in the studio while still looking crisp for the zoom meeting?
This is why I go back to the same proven pieces, often investing in multiple colors. My morning look always includes Catherine Sweatpant. It’s the Perry T-shirt all day, plus the Montecito Sweater, and the Shirley button-up are the easiest choices if I want to look chic but relaxed.
ERIN: I love my Shirley. It’s oversized, it’s the right mix of masculine and feminine, it’s comfortable, it’s easy. Bonus points because my husband gets his shirts back.
ERIN: There's incredible satisfaction in carrying a vessel made of plants, especially when you know the maker or have made it yourself. It’s an act that feels simultaneously primordial and rebellious—a reclaiming of the female story.
It’s also a return to the very origin of the container—our human need to gather and share. Carrying a basket makes me feel grounded, rooted in a tangible, real way of life. The beautiful paradox is that it’s also just so intensely practical.
I joke that the future of handbags is 1,000 years old. To carry my day in a basket we’ve made represents a lot for me.
Erin is photographed wearing our Shirley Oversized Button-Up Shirt in White Everyday Poplin. in White Superluxe and our Montecito Classic Pullover Sweater in Black.
Erin is photographed wearing our Perry NYC Crewneck Tee in Black Heritage Jersey and our Catherine 29" Full-Length Favorite Sweatpant in Black Triple Fleece.
ERIN: I hope our baskets feel spirited—But never "precious."
That they become well-loved and woven into the very fabric of daily life. That they enhance days in small, tangible ways, just as they do for me.
Ultimately, I hope people use them to create their own stories, becoming the vessels instinctively reached for—to gather, to carry, and to build the memories that make up life.
ERIN: I hope our baskets feel spirited—But never "precious."
That they become well-loved and woven into the very fabric of daily life. That they enhance days in small, tangible ways, just as they do for me.
Ultimately, I hope people use them to create their own stories, becoming the vessels instinctively reached for—to gather, to carry, and to build the memories that make up life.
Our Moments with Erin:
Thanks for cozying up for 'a cuppa with' Erin!
To keep up with Erin and Underwater Weaving:
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