Oh Happy Day

What a fun day we had last Sunday with our bike craft workshop in the Happy Talk House.  The bamboo bike crates looked gorgeous as did the ones made from re-purposed irrigation pipe crates.  It was so wonderful to see everyone interpret the basic design in their own way.

We were so inspired that we've started work on a range of re-purposed timber crates too so if you're at the Sydney Rides Festival Street Fair this weekend, stop by the Cycle Chic stall for a sneaky preview.

Now I just want to see all these crates on bicycles and some flower wheels riding around Sydney!

    

    

    

Thanks to everyone who made this event so joyful - you know who you are.....

More photographs on flickr and the Happy Talk House is still creating magic so stop by if you haven't already.

WOOP WOOP - Cycle Chic Kids Get Crafty in the Sunshine!

Wow, what a brilliant day we had yesterday.  The buzz was incredible as families, hipsters and everyone in between turned out to celebrate the opening of the Bourke Street Cycle Way and join the fun at the WOOP Festival.

The sun shone and Wimbo Park was truly alive with craftalicious fun as kids (of all ages!) upcycled their bikes with our flowers and streamers and bells.  Great seeing those handlebar ribbons appear on all the photographs today!

     

     

We even managed to get a bit of a ride in - it was so nice to see the kids out in force on the bike lanes.

Check out the rest of our WOOP photos here and if you have photos of the event to share, we'd love you to join and add them to our flickr group (or email me if easier).

Don't forget to like our Facebook page to keep up to date with future events.

So many kisses and thanks to my gorgeous team of helpers and Upcyclers who crafted up a storm!

(Liane, Milou, Heidi, Bea, Samorn, Tanja, Sonja, Jim - THANK YOU x)

And Reverse Garbage and Opera Australia for the bling!

     

Get Your Craft On Cycle Chic Kids!

Just one more sleep to go to the much anticipated WOOP Rolling Festival on Bourke Street and we're excited!

We have piles of wonderful recycled craft generously donated by Reverse Garbage and Opera Australia.

Gorgeous lucky dip giveaways for all crafty kids thanks to supporters Gazelle Australia & CycleStyle and a FETE STALL!
(It's my first fete stall, forgive me for my joy!)

     

Our team of BRILLIANT Crafty Upcyclers will be on hand to help you make art out of your bikes and then on to the beautiful cycle way you go!

It's going to be a gorgeous day - stop by and say hi (even you big kids) and grab some ribbon for your handlebars.... go on you know you want to :-)

We'll be in Wimbo Park on Bourke Street (opposite Devonshire Street) between 11-3 on Sunday 15th!

Cycle Chic Kids are go!!

Those Wolfies Vintage Cruisers

This 1960's Huffy Roadside Cruiser has my name all over it.  I've never been a huge fan of cruisers but boy this collection of classic bikes from Wolfies Cycles is just gorgeous.

Each bike has been beautifully restored by owner Mark Austin and the whole collection will be on display (and for sale) for a few weeks only at Blank Space Gallery in Surry Hills.

They knock socks off the recent plethora of modern beach cruisers - no substitute for originality in my humble opinion so go, look, buy, it's very rare to see so many beautiful vintage bikes in one space.  Felix (age 4) thinks they look like brilliant shiny rockets and he's right.

And hands off the Huffy!

I'd Love To See This Bicycle In Motion

Calling all Cycle Chic Kids - Bling Your Bike at the Newtown Festival!

Ok so there are a lot of bikes in Newtown, that's a fact. So at next Sunday's Festival, we expect to see some serious cycle chic.
The Festival is one of Sydney's largest and longest running free community festivals and will be a day full of the usual community shenanigans. World music, great food, an Eco Zone, the wonderful Great Aussie Clothes Swap, stalls, bicycle valet parking with free tune-ups, kids activities and.....no wait, kids activities?

Now there is something pretty cool happening for our little bicycle warriors at the Newtown Festival this year. Something that I have a very keen interest in, being mother to a mini bicycle maniac.
Kids are not only being encouraged to ride to the festival, brilliant in itself, but they are also being invited to decorate their bikes for the inaugural "Bling Your Bike" competition.

Open to kids of Primary School age, all they have to do is go bananas with the recycling and get crafty with their bikes, ride up to the festival and register and then join the parade through the park. The City of Sydney's Bicycle Ambassadors will judge the best bikes, there will be cool prizes and proud parents.

Kids love bikes, especially Cycle Chic Kids (as Mikael's son Felix from Copenhagen Cycle Chic proves) and they should be riding and having fun.  We were all kids once and we remember what it was like. So if you have small people, help them funk up their bike, pimp yours while you're at it and head on down to the festival next Sunday.  We'll be there with bells on.


The festival is on November 14 from 9.30-5.30 at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, Australia Street, Newtown.
Festival details here and full kids competition details here.

Severely Pimped Up Ride

I'm not even going to ask how this is possible.....?

Is This Picnic Basket Too Ambitious?

Just need some sunshine and a LOT of food and Cycle Chic Sundays Summer Picnics are set to go....

Pimp Your Ride #2 - sparkly bike

Well this is just lovely - mad but lovely.  I'm actually a bit surprised that I don't see more bejeweled bikes?  Where are you hiding?  I have a feeling you're out there somewhere?

It's tempting...... and a great way to pimp up an old bike.  All you need is some sparkly jewels and a hot glue gun - and who doesn't have one of those in the bottom drawer.

Thanks to velojoy for sending Sparkle Pony my way - great story over at their blog too.

Nice Bikes In Sydney This Week

Everywhere I turn this week I see bicycles - am I just tuned in more or is Sydney going bicycle mad ??

Spotted this beautiful Electra on Bourke St today - nicely pimped up and that skirt guard is cute as hell.  Hoping the owner gets in touch, we need you and your beautiful bike on a Cycle Chic ride !

And I see this Electra often down at the ferry.  Classic.

Pimp Your Ride #1 - the road popper

I thought I'd start a little regular feature and share some ideas with you for "pimping" your ride.

To start the ball rolling is this - so perfect as we head in to the long lazy summer months....

     

Featured on Design Boom, the road popper is a bike-mounted bottle opener designed by the Canadian design duo Chromoly.  Designers Jonathan Sabine and Adam Pickard originally developed the design for their own use but decided (hurrah) to share it.  
It attaches directly to the rails on the underside of the saddle, keeping out of sight and is produced on demand using the rapid prototyping services of shapeways in bronze infused stainless steel.
Love it.