Downton Abbey's bicycles in 1917

I was pretty thrilled to finally watch the beginning of Downton Abbey's second season last night -- along with many many others on this side of the pond! It was equally nice to see bicycles making an appearance in daily life in England during WWI... from the postman to Lady Edith.

design hearts bikes: Charge Bikes @ The Conran Shop THIS Wednesday in NYC

If your in NYC, join the preview party for Charge Bike's 2012 line of bicycles including their collaboration with Sir Terence Conran...

Wednesday, November 9th
Preview from 10am-6pm
The Conran Shop NYC -- lower level of the lovely ABC Carpet & Home
888 Broadway, between 18th and 19th Street

Charge's Creative Director/Brand Manager, Nick Larsen, who previously worked for Pashley Cycles, had the good design sense to do a collaboration with Sir Terence Conran (yes, Conran of The Conran Shop) on two "simple, practical, low maintenance, and affordable" bikes... the Conran X Charge Bikes Hob and Plug

... 2 bicycles which closely echo Conran's philosophy that good design gives you pleasure and improves the quality of all of our lives through products that work well, are affordable and look beautiful.

With a classic steel frame and 3 speed Sturmey Archer internally hubbed gears the ladies and mens bikes are design classics with an understated yet contemporary style . Fitted with Charge's multi-award winning saddles and with an upright riding position, the bikes are not only comfortable but practical and allow great control and visibility in urban environments. 

While Charge Bikes has been around for a few years (mostly distributed widely in the UK, Japan, Korea, Europe, Australia and New Zealand) they just recently signed up with a major US retailer who will be selling a range of their city, single-speed, mountain, and cyclocross bikes -- so your likely to be seeing much more of them soon!

images via Charge Bikes

Oh, and did you see this great little peice about Sir Terence Conran's extraordinary 60 year career in the NYTimes T Magazine this weekend?!

SO BRIGHT - Cambridge Satchel Co.'s S/S 2011 Collection

bag images via Cambridge Satchel Company

Loving this florescent trend in fashion... and what do you know the Cambridge Satchel Company now makes their traditional British school satchels in BRIGHT 'Fluro' colours! How nice would one of these be in your bike basket - or on your back! And if you worried about converting pounds to dollars, JCrew is carrying a selection in their CREWCUT section.

Hasn't been this easy to shop to be this highly visible since the '80s!

via Refinery29

via SHEfinds

wearable cam love

My friend - and brewmaster - Nathan Zeender sent over this link from BBC News this week... 'Helmet Cameras Capture Bad Driving' about a London commuter who recorded getting run off the road by a truck with a mini video camera he was wearing at the time and was used as evidence in a court case against the driver. (The cyclist won.) In the article the UK "cycling organization CTC says the more people cycle, the safer it becomes, as drivers become used to watching out for bicycles. The organization says there has been a 91% increase in cycling in London alone since 2000, while casualties have dropped by a third." Transportation Alternatives in NYC has similar findings. Clearly a huge drivers are just unaccustomed to watching out for cyclists - and they need to. It definitely can't do any harm to share a cyclists point of view.

... while on the topic of wearable cams, I do love watching helmet camera videos and the technology just keeps getting more and more amazing! GoPro’s HD HERO is one amazing video and still photo camera which you can attach to your sport helmet or body. Just watch the video above - highlights from the world's best freestyle bike athletes in Northern California at the 2010 Post Office Bike Jam! (Watch out, the soundtrack may get stuck in your head.)

Radley bags + Pashley bikes

Bright + cheerful British fashion accessory company, Radley, launch their S/S 2010 collection with the ever popular bicycle-as-marketing tool... this season's photoshoot (above) and a customized Pashley bike give away (sadly only open to UK residents)...
However, Radely has crossed the pond with a recently launched website for those living in the USofA.

fred fanfare

Fred Perry X Liberty 'blank canvas' collection 'blank canvas' sneaker

More excellent applications of Liberty prints - this time with Fred Perry. Finding the formfitting polo very cycling jersey-esque. Will the Liberty love ever end?

hello postman

Last fall, as I dove deep in research when designing an expandable bike basket, I was drawn to a broad spectrum of load bearing designs dating from the turn of the century - from panniers when bike touring was popular to postal service carriers.

Yesterday we received (in the mail) the latest J.Crew Men's Shop catalogue and was immediately drawn to their Belstaff® large New York postman bag, while not so thrilled at the price tag...

Founded in Staffordshire, England, in 1924, Belstaff is famous around the globe for its fine workmanship and durable, hardworking technical gear. A striking example that great design is timeless, this meticulously crafted carryall is a replica of the mail bags carried by New York City postmen in the 1930s. In vegetable-dyed Italian buffalo hide, it's waxed and oiled by hand and burnishes to a unique finish with wear. We're particularly fond of the authentic three-hole closure on the front flap—once used to adjust capacity to the amount of mail, it can be secured to accommodate all manner of contents, from letters to fire logs. They don't make them like this anymore. Made in Italy.

Which would accompany these so nicely on a quaint bicycle ride...

'Crush' from Cole Haan's new Cole, Rood & Haan Collection♥ with a nice branding campaign by the amazing & wonderful Jennifer Lee ♥

city crevasses + ephemeral beauty

Pete Dungey beautifies small portions of city streets which require attention with Pothole Gardens via Bird to the North.

Dungey's gardens reminded me of Charles Simonds' miniature architecture and landscapes. In the 1970's Simonds roamed the Lower East Side and built, brick by tiny brick, miniature imaginary civilizations in the cracks of walls of dilapidated buildings, doorsills, and along the curbstones. He eventually traveled around the world creating these installations using unfired clay... making them temporary, like their surroundings...

photos via La Barbotina

I always look forward to taking the stairs (designed by Marcel Breuer) at the Whitney Museum to peek in on one of Simonds' "Little People" dwellings.

'Alan' keys

British designer, Pete Dungey, undertook a survey to establish who the most well-known 'Alan' was in 2009. The results were as follows:

1. Alan Titchmarsh
2. Alan Partridge
3. Lily Allen
4. Alan Shearer
5. Alan Carr
6. Sir Alan Sugar
7. Tim Allen

Beauty and the Bike - the (short) documentary

Beauty and the Bike is a cultural urban travel project that looks at one such mobility culture – that of the teenage girl and young woman... Our project is founded on the fact that girls in cycling friendly countries continue to cycle into adulthood, whilst in other countries - like the UK - they tend to give up during the teenage years. Why?

Everyone should watch this!

via Copenhagen Cycle Chic

description via BikeBeauty.org

signature stripes

Paul Smith collaborates with specialist Japanese bicycle saddle makers, Kashimax. Nice. via NotCot

wire basket goodness

The Hoxton Wire Basket by Brooks - an elegant addition which includes a wood base and a leather grip (made of leather washers cut from their saddle production).

Dashing Tweeds - indeed!

More then what you expect... Dashing Tweeds was recently launched by weaver Kirsty McDougall and photographer Guy Hills. Everything about this British company's offerings are enticing - from cut to colour to materials. Their current collection includes hats, capes, jackets, knitwear, suits, bags and waistcoats woven with the EXCITING retroflective LumatwillsTM

"A unique weave of wool worsted and reflective yarn, LumatwillsTM appear by day only in their smart combination of colours. By night, under illumination, hidden reflective lines shine out, offering an inventive and stylish solution to attire for the pedestrian, cyclist or scooter rider."

Their selection of tweeds are exquisite. Above is the a swatch from The Specials collection which "will change each season and is inspired by the zeitgeist. The present collection drew from modernist weaves of the Bauhaus school."

All images via Dashing Tweeds

city promo

As more and more cities around the world are realizing the major benefits (and trendiness) of having people commute by bike, here is a look at how some are promoting two wheels in print...

Amsterdam

New York City

Copenhagen

London