The same old wicker?

Wicker has a lot of company these days: abaca bark, sea grass, dried hyacinth and other natural fibers are filling furniture catalogs and store windows this season. In some cases the woven finishes play to the nautical and organic motifs so popular right now; in other instances, the materials are simply elements of lower-cost collections -- a reflection of the rising cost of metal and consumers’ tightening budgets. Regardless of the genesis, the results are often clever, contemporary riffs on traditional wicker and rattan.

-- Times Staff