Connect Bridgeport
Ad
FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeRSS
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Community
    • Community News
    • Anniversaries
    • Announcements
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Calendar
    • Churches
    • Clubs & Organizations
    • Directory
    • Farmer's Market
    • File Complaint
    • Greeting Cards
    • Library
    • Lost And Found
    • Obituaries
    • Parks & Recreation
    • Sponsorships
  • Trading Post
    • For Sale
    • Local Deals
    • Services
    • Yard Sales
  • Visitors
  • Relocation
  • Education
  • Jobs
  • Alumni
Ad

BHS Teacher Marsha Coakley Launches Etsy Shop After Years of Basket Weaving

By Trina Runner on July 31, 2020

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.”
 
 

Share

Leave a Comment
Login or register

Leave a Comment

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up/stay connected

Create your profile to start adding photos, posting comments, and more.

SIGN UP

Ad
Ad
Ad

Blogs [ view all ]

  • Photo

    From the Bench: Props to BHS Team One of...

    There have been plenty of great boys’ basketball teams in Bridgeport High School’s history. Certainly, thi...

    Posted by Jeff Toquinto

  • Photo

    Time Travel: Early 1980s Bridgeport Yout...

    See anyone you remember from this youth soccer photo from the very early 1980s - likely 1981 or 1982? The team...

    Posted by Dick Duez

  • Photo

    It's Happening: Baylor Comes Home

    Many have been following the journey of 2-year-old Baylor Waggamon since early-2025 when he was awaiting a heart transplan...

    Posted by Julie Perine

  • Photo

    ToquiNotes: Unlucky 13-Year Anniversary ...

    It was August 20, 1970, when what many will consider the worst storm in Bridgeport’s history took place. A torna...

    Posted by Jeff Toquinto

  • Photo

    The Grapevine: New Feature Nearing a Deb...

    Guess what’s happening? Starting this month, the Grapevine is going to have a new feature.   On...

    Posted by Rosalyn Queen

Calendar [ view all ]

Fri
11

Monthly Matinee: Mamma Mia! (2008) (Bridgeport Public Library)

Fri
11

Family Movie Night: Wreck-It Ralph (Bridgeport Public Library)

Mon
14

Bridgeport City Council Meeting

 



Bridgeport, WV
Editorial Board Advertise Privacy Policy Contact Us
FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeRSS

©2014 Connect Bridgeport.