Last Friday I had the chance to go to Oregon Manifest, an event showcasing handmade custom bicycles.  The event took up two floors at the Leftbank project near the rose garden arena.  I was amazed at the pure number of vendors at this event, meaning Portland has a substantial enough bike culture to support so many local bike businesses.

A reporter from the Oregonian approached me and interviewed me for a featured article which was published on the front page of the metro section of Saturdays paper.

here is an excerpt:

Ken Tomita got his first road bike two weeks ago but insists he’s not “really into bicycles at all.”

Still, the Southeast Portland 30-year-old liked a lot of what he saw Friday at Oregon Manifest, a two-day showcase of handmade bikes at Leftbank Project, 1618 N. Vancouver Ave., in Portland.

“I really like seeing people who take things to the limit, who customize or do innovative things with new materials,” Tomita said. “So I’m here to check out what people have done.”

…….

Tomita, who runs a custom furniture company, said the show brings together people who take a craftsman’s approach in a mass-produced society.

“I think it’s amazing that our society — at least in Portland — is going in the other direction,” he said, “toward locally made, high quality, instead of cheap and fast and disposable.”

Im encouraged to see how people in Portland value high quality locally made goods.  The trend towards specialization and niche businesses extends beyond bikes.  Hopefully, the demand for hand made high quality furniture will see a jump in demand like the market for custom bicycles.