For the cyclist in your life, nothing will make Christmas sweeter than one of Laurie MacPherson’s wooden bike baskets under the tree.

By Noa Glow | December 2011

It took just one 90 minute yoga class for Laurie MacPherson to hatch a plan to build the perfect bike basket for her 1975 vintage cruiser.

“Actually, the idea popped into my head … 30 minutes in, so it really only took about 45 minutes for the whole thing to come together,” she laughs. “I came out of class, called my dad and we built the first prototype with pieces of Douglas fir he had in his garage.”

With the crate-like basket securely strapped to her bike, MacPherson was finally free from the burdensome backpack she used to have to don each time she cycled across the city.

“It’s the perfect shape and size for a beach blanket, a bathing suit, a bottle of red wine and some tapas for a picnic at Kits Beach; there’s no fear of the bottle falling out,” she says, adding that “it’s hard to find a basket that suits [a vintage bike] aesthetically. These bike crates truly exemplify my style as a cruiser.”

MacPherson set up an Etsy page to facilitate orders for her baskets. But when her pop’s supply of wood began to dwindle, she sourced out a Malaysian manufacturer to build the baskets from sustainable kiln-dried teak wood, which will retain its shape and appearance in wet weather.

For $69, each basket comes fully assembled (15.75 inches long by 10 inches wide by 8.5 inches high), with hardware, and attaches to most standard rear racks with a screwdriver or a pair of pliers. Etsy recently chose MacPherson’s wares to feature on its billboards and subway ads in Berlin.

“This is a great lesson in doing something different, trying something new,” she says. “When you’ve got what you think is a really great idea, go for it. You never know what could happen.” www.etsy.com/shop/abasketfull