The friendly FedEx guy just dropped off our first Loki shipment- a box full of Morf zip-up hoodies. Jeremy offered to model:
The Morf offers the same integrated mitts and face shield that the popular Loki jackets have. We originally set up an account with Loki to bring in the venerable Myth softshell, but it seems that the jacket has undergone a material change for this year- it’s no longer a waterproof outerlayer. Instead, we sourced these nice lined hoodies- perfect for layering. $79 here at OPEN.
As the frosts approach, we here at Open are looking to bring in new seasonal product to keep your fingers warm and tires on the ground… which means making some room in our little shop. We’ve got a nice assortment of Chrome product, from the all-new (and toasty warm) shoes, with in-sole stiffeners and ballistic Cordura uppers and laces, to a lineup of the SF brand’s bags and hip packs. Bags in stock are 15% off and shoes in stock are 20% off until the end of the month!
Dave from Seed Sewn dropped off some fresh winter caps the other day:
Dave has been honing his skills on the sewing machine all year, all the while putting his signature upcycled-material caps on fashion-forward heads all around town and taking care of an awesome and growing family. The new winter caps feature New England-appropriate wools and flannels with cotton liners. Each cap is individual, and can be custom tailored for your head. Earflaps and other features are possible custom options, as well. The caps start at $30 and are only available here at Open.
Jahn from Cambridge Street Press just dropped off some of the first issues of the Inman Review, a homegrown literary quarterly featuring Cambridge and Somerville writers and photographers. I’ve been speaking with him over the last few months as he and his partners have been gearing up for the inaugural release and I was thrilled to see him come through the door with a bag of copies for us. Literary magazines live and die by the quality of their content and an engaged readership, and after paging though Volume 1, I’m sure that we can look forward to many years of this fine collection of new and established works gracing the coffee tables and cafe lounges of the area. If you creatives out there have submissions for these fine folk, direct them to inmanreview@gmail.com, and be sure drop by Open to pick up your copy- the first run was only 250 so they will disappear quickly…
The distinguished framebuilder Mike Flanigan dropped by last night with some nice ANT (Alternative Needs Transportation) goods for me and a few ideas up his sleeve… hopefully we’ll be seeing some OPEN x A.N.T. collaborative efforts very soon.
Mike has been diligently building his distinctive but utilitarian bikes since 2003 after leaving IF (he was one of the original founders) and is now out in Holliston, MA. If you haven’t seen his rideable works of art, be certain to check out his current models.
PS: Note the Weekly Dig placard in the background of the photo- we’ve been shortlisted for the “DigThis 2009″ awards for Best Bike Shop! Pop over to the survey page to vote! (For us, if you feel so inclined…)
The other day another videographer pal of ours, Eric Tollar, came by and filmed us building a Luggernaut single-speed for the good ol’ sales floor. We had a few sticking points during the build, such as misplaced tools and over-caffinated shakey hands, but nothing we couldn’t overcome. This metallic black lugged beauty came together with carefully chosen parts, all from Traitor.
We enjoy the experience of bring a beautiful kinetic machine into being from a box of parts, and it always makes us a bit teary-eyed when a friend leaves the shop with a new ride. Nothing to do but build another!
This last Saturday, Zack, myself, and an awesome crew of helpers officially welcomed the public into OPEN’s newly-renovated space in Union Square, Somerville. We cleaned the place up, hung the gallery, chilled the beers, polished the bikes, and made some spoke cards:
Early in the evening, the shop began to fill up- locals, racers, friends, couriers, frame builders, artists, out-of-towners, and a few dogs mingled amidst the shiny components and locally-crafted bicycles.
The latest custom fillet-brazed steed from Icarus:
A bit after 7pm, the enormous raw steel door that separates OPEN from the Chorus Gallery was raised. The gallery’s inaugural show, “Keep it Down,” is a new exhibition from local photographer Justin J. Keena that showcases the artist’s past and current work via a diverse range of study, and the public seemed to be enjoying the new space and the evocative photographs:
Shortly after the gallery opening, the video kicked off. There were a few technical hitches, but our man Jon knocked out some quick technical debugging and the show began, with people covering the floors, stairs, and furniture.
A short film we produced last winter started the series, followed by another short that showcased a day in the life of Geekhouse builder Marty Walsh. (Both films were shot and edited by local videographer Steve “Stebs” Shinnerer of Quarter Productions.) The Boston premier of Macaframa followed- the hi-def shots of smooth riding in warm air got everyone hyped up for spring. The movies went over well with the crowd and the party began in earnest. Dom, Maggie, and Stebs held down the bar:
Free Narragansett, Fisherman’s Brew, and Redbull & Vodkas kept the kids happy and everyone took turns playing records, dancing, and generally cutting loose:
We had a wonderful time, met a bunch of great people, and saw many friends we haven’t seen for the last 4 months as we’ve been building the shop. More events are planned for the near future- we’ll post info as it becomes available. Thanks to all that helped out and supported us; we couldn’t have done it without you!
Photo credits go out to Kirsten Tamme! (Yes, we gave Justin Keena the night off..)
