Flat Tire Decor Review

May 30, 2011

My friend and garden blog guru, MrBrownThumb, asked me to join a group of garden bloggers reviewing products from Flat Tire Decor. I would receive one of their products for no charge, and provide a blog post of my experience and opinion. Other than receiving the product, I was not compensated for this review, and these are my honest opinions.

Flat Tire Decor is a Milwaukee (West Allis) based company that recycles/reuses old tires by turning them into footwear and other products.  Milwaukee company and keeping tires out of landfills, how great is that? I received their largest basket, the ‘Newport’, a two handled trug-type shape that’s about 8″high with an 8″ base and 12″ top opening. (Milwaukee folks – you can get these at any of the 4 Elliott’s Ace Hardware stores)

Kiddo suggested I use the Newport to chill drinks. This is a great use. We like serving food buffet style, and are always looking for different ways to present guests with self serve options for many different beers, wines or soda. I know, I have one smart Kiddo, thanks for noticing. He earned a pack of his fav Sprecher Cream Soda as a reward for coming up with the idea.

 My other favorite use was on the back of my bike. The stiff nature of the tires, allowed the sides to hold up to the bungee cords. The open top allowed me to safely carry plants and other farmer’s market finds which could get damaged in the pannier or messenger bags.

Ironically, the most obvious use of the Newport was my least favorite. I am a huge fan of using trugs in the garden, and already own three. I mix dirt and fertilizer in them, fill them with weeds, use them to tote tools, plants and other things around the garden. However, for this purpose, I wasn’t overly fond of the Newport. A bit too small, handles felt a bit clunky in my hands.

However, I so liked the idea of using the Flat Tire Decor items with my bike, that I exchanged several tweets with the owner (their twitter account is @flattiredecor) suggesting they make a bike basket version. An oval similar in size to the Newport with a way to attach to handlebars would be great. Even better with an easy on off feature to allow the user to carry it around while shopping and then quickly put on the bike. Something about using waste from an auto while using my bike as transportation makes me smile.

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