(photos by Dave Sharp)” />
Wow. What a night. A great turnout from bike lovers of all stripes! Thanks so much to everyone who braved the wintry chill to join us at the BikeCraft Faire and Shift Social last night. It felt amazing to have so many different parts of the cycling community come under one roof. Here is the photo gallery…and below is a rapid-fire list of thoughts and thanks.
- I talked for about 3 hours straight with nothing to drink when all of the sudden my throat broke and I was reduced to a whisper for about 10 minutes.
- The Sprockette calendars sold briskly and they raised $400 bucks!
- Amy and James DeRosso’s bike-inspired stoneware sold out and was one of the hottest items of the night.
- Due to profuse talking and hand-shaking in front of my little welcome table, I didn’t really get a chance to browse all the great stuff.
- At one point it was so packed you could barely move and the energy and chatter was so loud I never even heard the band.
- Maggie (of bike sweater and bike sewing machine fame) said her face hurt from smiling so much.
- It was cool to see friends of mine that don’t even bike have such a great time and get into the bikey spirit!
- David “Chops” Darby performed a moving poem about bikes and cars sharing the road. I videotaped him and I hope to transpose it and share it with you here.
And now some thank yous:
- A big thanks to Brenda, owner of Urban Grind Coffee for being so laid back and generous in giving us free reign of her space.
- Thank you to the artists (all 20 of you!). Your talent and creativity were appreciated and admired by everyone that attended.
- Thank you to veteran crafter Carye Bye who offered her sage advice, insights and encouragement from day one.
- Thank you to Ayleen Crotty who helped me promote this thing through her vast knowledge of flyering, emailing, and radio show DJ’ing.
- Thank you to Dat Nguyen, coordinator of many small details that helped things run smoothly.
- Thank you to photographer-for-hire Dave Sharp who donated his services for the night
- And last but not least , a big thanks to everyone who showed up and supported local artists and the fantastically glorious, diverse, and beautiful Portland bike community.
OK, now go check out all the photos (most of them were taken and donated to me by photographer Dave Sharp)!