Jeff and the other cats at All-City have officially welcomed OPEN team rider Sean Milnes to the ranks. Sean hails from New Haven and has been riding hard and repping for OPEN for the last year, gaining acclaim and attention with his smooth style and unequaled determination. Sean joins a respected team with a strong base in Minneapolis (my hometown) and riders spanning the country. OPEN proudly stocks All-City frames and components and we’re thrilled to see Sean supported by such a solid company. Congratulations, Sean!
Today is the Redbones Annual Bike Party, a benefit for NEMBA and MassBike. OPEN is sharing a booth with the I Love My Bike Book folk and we’ll be promoting the 2010 Boston BFF, as well. We’re closing a bit early today, but drop by Davis Square, get some good eats, check out the brass band, and say hi if you’re around!
Our good friend (and my new roomie) Stebs just released another BMX self-portrait. Ever-capable of connoting those often indescribable notes and colors and subtle feelings of space with his medium, Stebs documents his determination and finesse around the neighborhood. Check out the Paper Fortress website for more….
Yesterday’s I Love My Bike Book Ride was a smashing success- the Square was packed with kind folk and their beloved bikes and Finkle led everyone around on a scenic tour/photoshoot of the Somerville/Cambridge/Boston area. Thanks to all who came out and hung out. FYI’s: we’ve got a good stock of the Chris Piascik- designed tees, printed on American Apparel, in stock now at OPEN.
If you didn’t know already, our good friends and local power-duo Matt Finkle and Brittian Sullivan have found a publisher for their I Love My Bike Book! OPEN is hosting a Boston area meet-up today, to be followed by a ride and photoshoot on this lovely Memorial Day- get here!
Tuesday we somewhat quietly re-opened the shop at our new storefront location. Now at 21A Union Square, we find ourselves enjoying the cornershop spot, happy to have sunlight streaming in the huge windows and awesome coffee next door at Sherman Cafe. New stock is starting to percolate in and the coming weeks will see some mind-blowing locally-designed and manufactured frames, parts, accessories, and apparel hitting the shelves.
For a week or two we’ll be open shorter hours to allow us to finish some details- 12p-6p every day. A Grand Opening is scheduled for the 26th-27th of June with a slew of events for all to enjoy- details TBA. Pop by the new shop and see what we’ve been up to!
I apparently was a bit ambitious about blog frequency in my last post, and there’s good reason. Solid spring weather has found us happy and healthy here in Union Square, Somerville, with plenty of projects, plans, and moves to accommodate. A few things of note:
We’ve been running all over the Northeast arranging the final touches for the new shop. Our socially-conscious design vision (and our long-since-over-budget build-out allowance) compel us to recycle and reuse as much as possible in our transformation a 40-year old barbershop to a clean and functional shop. We found dozens of recycled steel shelves (from a now-defunct RAD Fabrications) up in New Hampshire to organize our stockroom and make room for all the new product coming. A blisteringly fast shot down to south Connecticut scored us a few made-in-NYC vintage oak library ladders for our roomy upstairs (cool story on the Putnam Ladder Company last year in the NY Times) and a rush hour crawl back.
We dropped by Sean Milnes’ lovely house in New Haven to relax a bit and pick-up Sean’s wheels for repair. Turns out doing this:
Sean’s off on a East Coast trip with Shop Cultur on what may be one of the first FGFS “pro” tours this June, and we spoke a bit about what the scene is shaping up to be. Manufacturers are making new product to meet the evolving demands of riders like Sean and enterprises like Shop Cultur signal the rise of FGFS in the ‘burbs and smaller cities that don’t have shops like OPEN to cater to their needs. Inevitable schlocky bandwagoning aside, it’s a win for everybody when a small group of committed pioneers create something that gains mass appeal and support, and we at OPEN are constantly looking in to new product, events, and education to encourage this growth. Sean is a genuine, kind, and focused person and is exactly the kind of individual who personifies our philosophies and attitude. We’re super happy to have him as part of the family. Be sure to check him out on the tour (details TBD) and at the BFF 2010 in NYC this year (OPEN will be there for the films, races, comps, and street party, as well).
Last note / shameless plug:
Chorus Gallery, formerly adjacent to the old OPEN shop, is getting ready to occupy new (and larger) space down the street and is holding a pop-up gallery and live-painting fundraiser at Trina’s Starlight Lounge, May 12th, 2010. Drink specials, good art, and fine people will be in abundance. Come out and support Chorus Collective as we move towards reopening in Union Square.
All that being said, keep an eye peeled on this site / RSS / word on the street as we rapidly approach our re-opening. The shop is looking good, the weather is getting consistently clement, and we’re becoming terribly excited.
