It's a sign...

State of Design is happening right now in Melbourne, and there are a couple of interesting bike-related tidbits to be had. Mikael Colville-Andersen, the Danish film-maker, photographer and bike fetishist best known from the Cycle Chic and Copenhagenize blogs is the special guest at a cycling celebration at Denmark House on Friday (would love to be a fly on that wall).

The Design Files did a great wrap of the festival's trade show, and something in particular that caught my eye was Trent Jansen's Cycle Signs. Jansen is an Aussie object designer with a keen interest in sustainable design; as such he has a rich history of recycling and reinterpreting pre-used materials. For example, he makes beautiful stools from old road signs. With offcuts from the signs and their reflective vinyl lettering, Jansen has created these reflective buttons for bikes, which either attach via a clamp to the wheel spokes, or strap onto the body of the bike. Even the straps are made from old bicycle tubes, so the materials are almost all recycled.


They're so simple and practical, yet visually they add something special to a bike. I'm hoping to pick up a few this weekend - Trent says they're available in Sydney at Deus Ex Machina, Tokyo Bike, Cheeky Transport and Chee Soon & Fitzgerald. If you're in Melbourne, try "Saint Cloud on Gertrude Street, and Eco Innovators on the corner of Little Collins and Swanston Streets". (photos courtesy of Trent Jansen - and be sure to check out this great interview with him, which has images of the amazing Pregnant Chair he designed)


If you're in Sydney this weekend there's a bit of a bike bonanza happening at the Woolloomooloo Festival On Wheels. Sable & Argent will play host to a swapmeet, there will be a BBQ and beers and bands and DJs and all manner of cool kids. Will do my best to check it out but I always feel like the school nerd at these kinds of gatherings of chic fixie aficionados. Not unlike when I took my first bike to St Pat's Primary School, proud as punch of my little pink treadly. Ended up in tears at the bike rack when some older boys informed me that my spokey dokes were not nearly as cool as I thought. Their every pling and plong on the long journey home was like an accusation of my dagginess, and I made my dad take them off that night, burning with shame. Never again! Bike pride!

One last thing. A bike just ain't a bike without a bell - but these are some amazing bells. The cupcake bell would be just perfect on Baby Blue, but Big Red would suit the ladybugs, I think. And the turtles are so cute!