Sisterhood of the Traveling Riding Jacket Stop #3: Kathryn Carlson, Founder of Buca Boot – Boston, MA

Patience does not come naturally to me. When I shifted from public health to building a business I thought, “No more delays. I can hit the ground running with no one to hold me back but myself.” Uh huh. Fast forward to now and I’ve realized patience is a HUGE part of building a business. Building a wonderful and novel product and all the bells and whistles that go with it, takes time.

Kathryn Carlson, the creator of Buca Boot models the patience and determination it takes to build something great.

I am a huge admirer of Kathryn Carlson’s creation, the Boca Boot. It is a novel trunk for your bicycle with thoughtful details like compartments that allow you to carry a wide array of goods while in transit (most importantly for me – tasty food and drinks), and then lock them securely and stylishly in a beautifully, smartly designed trunk that gives your bike the look of a high fashion Italian scooter. She makes urban cycling more convenient and stylish by tackling the huge issue of what the heck to do with your stuff when you want to live on your bike. And she is the first to create this. Visit bucaboot.com and you see this phenomenally creative, well-designed trunk beautifully laid out with an impressive array of combinations of your daily what have you’s – laptop, shoes, jackets, beer, yoga matt etc. If you did not already see your bike as sexy, get one of these and she will be turning heads.

There is a huge amount of thought put into all of the features the Buca Boot provides: canvas panniers for transport, bungee strap to hold your variables in, beautiful water proof wood top with gorgeous brass plated metal handles.
 
And yet, if you’ve not dipped your toes into the crazy world of manufacturing you may not know that behind this beautiful, ingenious solution is the patience and determination of a super strong lady and her team. Kathryn was determined to bring into the world a completely unique piece, with unique component parts, and do so as a small business who will not place first orders in the units of 100 thousand. In other words she had to believe in her idea and have the patience to battle uphill to bring it to fruition. What’s more, like my work on REID MILLER Apparel, Kathryn strives to build something that can nobly withstand real wear and tear day in and day out and hold up over time out in the elements. For example, those super sweet, slickly designed, waterproof doors went through several major redesigns to ensure that the Buca Boot kept your stuff safe from the weather (especially for her local customers biking in Boston!).

And what happens when a woman like Kathryn perseveres, stays with a fantastic idea? She brings something into the world that changes the way people live, gets them out on their bikes, feeling their connection with each other and the world. It is worth everything. Thank you, Kathryn, for doing what you do.