Hasta La Ideas

Thirty-four teams of top designers and custom bike builders compete to create the ultimate urban bike

The push to leave the car at home in favor of commuting by bicycle now weighs on urban communities more than ever, and with a shortage of urban-minded bicycle design on the market the choice isn’t an easy one to make. To help find a solution, the Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge has brought together some of the most talented designers and custom bike builders in the country tasked with creating the ideal modern utility bike. The concept and design process started in February 2011 and has just recently come to a conclusion on 24 September.

Outside of the actual competition were three Creative Collaborations by globally renowned design firms working with some top American craftsman. A highlight of the collaborations was California-based Fuseproject and Sycip. The Yves Behar lead firm designed the three wheeled Local while Sycip’s custom build team brought it to life. Designed to be “the perfect neighborhood bike,” it addresses the needs of daily life from visiting friends, grocery shopping, to taking the kids to the park and even going surfing.

The unique design/build competition included 34 professional “Constructors” from ten states. Earning himself a first place prize and $3,000 in winnings was Tony Pereira of Pereira Cycles. The Portland native designed his car replacement with an electric assist motor and a sound system, hoping to ease the transition from car to bicycle. Fellow Portlanders Tsunehiro Cycles and Silas Beebe/ID+ and Cielo by Chris King came in second and third place for their tough looking utility cruisers.

Taking top place for the student teams was University of Oregon. The large design team included students from multiple terms that saw the project from initial concept design through to the finished product. Included in the beginning ideation and research was the now graduated Andrew Lindley who described the campus bike as a blend of “utility and portability to enhance the urban cycling experience.” The compact geometry vies to make commuting safer and parking easier with a retractable kickstand and rear rack. Such innovative touches compelled legendary Nike design guru Tinker Hatfield to say the bike was a “fresh, creative approach… the future.”

The winning bicycles and Creative Collaborations will be on show in Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft from 17 September through 29 October.

Where to find a flannel, eat a slaw burger and cheer on the home teams in the beautiful City of Roses

Nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Portland might be best known for its incredible number of rainy days. That hasn’t stopped creative types—Wieden & Kennedy and Nike employees to the many independent artists and entrepreneurs—from flocking. Even worthy of parody in the miniseries Portlandia, there’s perhaps no U.S. city that has embraced progressive “eco-chic” values, turning the challenges of sustainable living into opportunities to innovate, more than the City of Roses. To get the real Portland experience from an insider perspective, check out our all-new Portland installment of CH Local—highlights from the guide below.

The Woodlands

On a side street in Old Town, The Woodlands is the ultimate purveyor of Northwest style, a one-stop shop for the finest menswear and accessories from a number of companies such as Pendleton, Danner, Archival Clothing and Tanner Goods and Field Notes, all homegrown in Oregon. Even if shopping isn’t on your agenda, stop by for a free cup of Sisters Coffee (roasted in Central Oregon), best enjoyed while perusing the rotating gallery in the back.

Little Bird

New to the Portland landscape, the friendly French bistro Little Bird has caused a big stir amongst the city’s thriving foodie community. Under the guise of award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker, Little Bird offers a simple mix of classic and contemporary French cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. Go for the famous Le Pigeon burger, a slaw-covered natural beef patty borrowed from their sister restaurant Le Pigeon, another local favorite.

Spirit of 77

Named for the one and only time the Trailblazers won an NBA championship title, Spirit of 77 is a great place to enjoy a local craft beer while cheering on the Oregon Ducks or checking out Portland’s new MLS team, The Timbers. Owners Jack Baron (co-owner of the Ace Hotel) and Nate Tilden (owner of the restaurant Clyde Common, as well as NYC’s The Beagle) have created another go-to locale with this retro-designed sports bar. Decorated with Northwest-centric athletic memorabilia, there’s also plenty of ways to have a friendly game of your own with their array of dartboards, foosball tables and basketball hoops. As an added bonus, the massive space is just a short walk from the Rose Garden, the Blazers’ home court, making it perfect for a pre- or post-game rendezvous.

Découverte de cette série de clichés de chiens en plein mouvements, secouant de l’eau. Des portraits étonnants en noir et blanc grâce à un travail de la photographe Carli Davidson, basée actuellement à Portland (Oregon). Plus d’images sur son portfolio et dans la suite de l’article.

Previously on Fubiz

• Jim Kazanjian
• Dogs in Cars
• Tree House

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An inside look at Portland, OR’s heritage-inspired accessories workshop and new retail outpost

Hailing from the heart of the Great Northwest, Portland, OR’s Tanner Goods is perfectly positioned to produce accessories rugged enough for a true outdoorsman but with looks good enough for city streets. To best showcase their expanding line of handmade leather belts, wallets, lanyards and canvas bags the label recently opened the doors to their first stand-alone retail store in downtown Portland.

I recently swung through, feeling right at home after one step inside the quaint space. From bags and belts to collaborations with fellow Oregonians Pendleton and Danner boots, all housed in the industrial-design interior, we were encouraged to touch and feel the quality in each piece. Local artisans and students can even purchase cut-rate leftovers by the pound from heavy bins of leather scraps.

After seeing the finished products, I ran across town to the workshop where they handcraft each and every piece that bares the hand stamped Tanner Goods insignia. There a small team of craftsman precisely cuts, tans, stitches and stamps the most recent batch of goods.

Coming as no surprise, Tanner uses only the finest domestically-sourced materials for their products—English Bridle American leather and heavyweight 10-ounce waxed canvas (from the sole remaining textile mill in America that still produces the specific fabric) to be exact. This emphasis on material quality ensures that Tanner products will last many years to come and only grow better looking with age.

Tanner’s position as a driving factor in the domestic heritage revival wasn’t earned easily, but the superb attention to detail in each and every stitch is sure keep them there. Check the gallery for more images of the workshop and go to Tanner online to view products and see a complete list of Tanner stockists.

Clean, smart graphics from freewheeling designer Aaron Draplin

Portland, OR-based designer Aaron Draplin is the upshot of a stubborn dedication to chasing dreams. A role model for anyone with uncompromising passion who refuses to let social norms interfere with their goals, Draplin started his current career path from very humble beginnings—with a single graphic for the company Solid Snowboards. For the 19-year-old Midwestern refugee, landing the gig was a shock to his system. “Let me tell you, I lived off that $300 for months,” he told CH. “It was the first building block in this new world that suddenly became clear in front of me. You can actually do this. For loot. For fun. For cool people.”

The logistics of turning a distinctive vision into a paying career eluded Draplin for awhile, including one memorable summer in which he worked at a carnival. But a few years later, he packed up his gear and moved back to the middle of the country, obtaining a degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Soon after graduating, he was hired as the Art Director of Snowboarding Magazine in what he refers to as “Shithole, Southern California.” Soon after, he moved to the much more accommodating climate of Portland, OR, and in 2004 began Draplin Design Company as an umbrella for his freelance projects.

Since then, he’s cobbled together an impressive array of clients, including Burton, Ride, Forum Snowboards, Coal Headwear and Absinthe Films. With friend 
Jim Coudal, Draplin launched the now-ubiquitous Field Notes notebooks, modeled after the simple memo books he uses on the road. The productive designer also gives talks on contemporary graphic design and produces innumerable one-offs for events like this past weekend’s “Push: Skatedeck Art Show” in Bend, OR.

Draplin’s designs are characterized by a clean, bright, street-smart aesthetic that looks equally at home on a skateboard deck or letterhead. Besides a fearsome work ethic—”It only feels like work if I’m under the gun,” Draplin says—he attributes his success to a simple philosophy: Do good work, for good people.

“I like to think of my target demographic as ‘adventurous motherfuckers who love what they make, and are willing to roll the dice on the DDC’,” he says. “That’s been the goal all along: Work for the people you love. Nothing sucks more than hating the chump on the other end of the project. And I’m proud to say, there’s only been a few of you over the years. You know who you are, fuckers.”

Check out Draplin’s work and online shop on his website.