Funny how such an unimposing man could draw the attention of an entire island. The basket-weavers of Nantucket aren't happy with him at all.

The island's master craftsmen have been weaving and selling their traditional lightship baskets for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But when you consider a simple eight-inch purse takes about 40 hours to create, the price may be warranted. What Taylor has done, they said, is to flood the market with imitations - at one-quarter of the cost. And it's hurting the islanders' business.

To offer such a drastic decrease in price, Taylor teamed up with the Putney, Vt.,-based company Basketville Inc. Together, Taylor said, he and owner George Wilson traveled to China and taught locals how to recreate the Nantucket style. The imports, called "Nate's Nantuckets," fetch anywhere from $12 to $180.

Dick Cifranic, acting president of the Nantucket Basket Weavers Association, said it is nearly impossible to make a basket in this country for what Basketville and Taylor are selling the Chinese-made ones for.

"They aren't good quality because the craftsmanship isn't the same," Cifranic said. "Would you buy a Cadillac or a Chinese car? Let's face it: The craft started on the island."

Taylor said Basketville's aim is to put a Nantucket basket in the hands of anyone who has a job. He said the originals cost thousands of dollars - and they should.

"But, I'm making a basket that people can afford," he added.

The island weavers said Taylor's methods are unconventional, his wood and craftsmanship are not up to snuff.

What the islanders may not know is Taylor's background. He and his partner, Martha Wetherbee, spent 25 years studying and reproducing Shaker baskets in Sanbornton. They wrote the definitive book Shaker Basketry and have been featured in and written articles for magazines such as Country Living and Yankee. Taylor said their work revolutionized the way Shaker baskets were made.

"Nothing has ever been challenged in (that book) since," he said.

Taylor and Wetherbee ran a basket shop, taught others how to weave, and created a national newsletter, which has a current circulation of 8,000 copies.

Bud Thompson, who runs the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner, helped open the Canterbury Shaker Village Museum and worked there for 32 years. He was there when Taylor and Wetherbee burst onto the scene.

He said the work the pair produced was of very high quality. "The first basket I saw made there, he (Nathan) made. He's a wonderful basket-maker and a very, very skilled guy," he said.

The Shakers had high respect for the pair's work as well, he added.

Taylor said the transition from Shaker to Nantucket baskets was a smooth for him because both types have great intricacy.

"Shaker reproductions are the most elegant of Ash-splint basketry," he said. "And Nantuckets have all of the same elegance."

The work produced by the Nantucket crafters are masterpieces, Taylor said, which is why those baskets can cost as much as $5,000. But, he added, it's equally important that the Nantucket crafters understand his work and products are not less desirable or of lesser quality. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

The argument goes something like this: who would pay thousands of dollars for a basket if a reproduction is available for a significantly lower price?

"The reason there is a controversy is that the quality of our product line is exceptional," Taylor said.

The Four Winds Gift Shop on Nantucket is a supplier of Nate's Nantuckets. The store carries the reproductions because they sell.

"We've been stocking (basket) copies for 40 years. Today, there are very good copies out there and Nate's is one of them. They are weaved much tighter and they are very popular. Some people buy Gucci. Some people buy what they can afford," one store's employee said.

Cifranic counters that Taylor isn't making anything.

"He has no work. He has it made in China. He's not a unique basket-maker and he's advertising (his baskets) as something unique."

Taylor said it plainly is not true that his products lack quality.

"They (Nantucket basket-makers) infer we use bamboo handles and cheap wood. It's not true," he said. "We use the finest leather and cane. All the rims (on the baskets) are wood, not reed. For them to infer that someone else's basket is lesser quality than theirs, only because it wasn't made on the island, is a disservice to the people who support the craft."

He also said when the Nantucket basket-makers assert that imported baskets are junk, they are looking at imported baskets that aren't his.

Cifranic said it doesn't matter who the importer is.

"People want to take something home from Nantucket, not from China," he said. "(Basketville and Taylor) are money-grubbers. They're trying to make a fortune."

Taylor said he is paid a commission for his services as a design consultant, but not by the piece. He said his primary motive is to make the finest quality line of baskets that can be made. Wilson, owner of Basketville, was not available for comment.

"I don't make a dime on any of these baskets. There's not a financial interest on them in my part," he said. "And I have never seen a compromise (in quality) yet."

For his part, Cifranic asserts a person need only visit the shops in Nantucket and watch the people work.

"People on this island are trying to keep a tradition going," he said. "And they are sometimes only making $1 an hour for all their trouble. I don't care what China does, as long as they don't do it in my backyard."

In the meantime, the Basketville catalog advertises the products as "museum quality Nantucket Baskets" and Taylor has his own catalog called "Nate's Nantuckets."