Tag: design

“bike”, an exhibition with and about the bicycle

bikes, an exhibition with and about the bicycle

On June 19, the architecture and design center (located next to the Museum of Modern Art) will open an exhibition with and about the bicycle. The bike and cycling are highlighted here as pages in the history of design and culture, as design objects, as lifelong companions and as an opportunity for urban planning, faced as it now is with an urgent need of redirection. The exhibition will close on October 5.

During that period several side events will be organized such as:

  • Tuesdays in July from 5pm to 8pm: bicycle-themed after work at Café Blom
  • August 3 to October 5: family Sundays from 1pm to 3pm (make bike accessories for yourself or your bike)
  • July 5, August 6 & October 4: bike before breakfast from 6am to 9am (bike out in the early morning and discover the architecture of Stockholm together with a guide)
  • August 13, 15, 30 & September 6, 13, 20, 27 & October 4: biking academy from 1pm to 3pm (learn how to ride safely in traffic, for kids)
  • August 12 to 16: culture festival (make bike accessories for yourself or your bike
  • September 2: cycle cities (a seminar ont the sustainable and bike-friendly cities of the future)
  • October 3 & 4: film festival (movies, bike and fun)
  • In June, August & September, Tuesdays from 4pm to 7pm & Sundays from 12am to 5pm: bring your bike and learn how to repair it

For a more detailed program please visit http://www.arkdes.se/articles/cykel (only in Swedish but Google Translate is your friend).

IKEA versus Mio

Not a single day goes by without brands using bicycles as marketing weapons: bicycles are cool, environmentally friendly, trendy and *insert-the-adjective-of-your-choice-here* and, I have to give them that, they sure do look nice.

I’m not sure who shot first but IKEA was the quickest to reach my mailbox, only a couple of days before Mio. The Swedish giant furniture retailer rides the bicycle cycling green wave and suggests you put your single-speed or fixed gear bicycle right on top of a white shelf. Red rims and a blue frame would be better whether you want to match colours with the cubes. Youthfulness at a low cost. Fresh and shiny. Like your hipster beard.

IKEA, commercial with bicycle

But if you’re a bit older and have put the single-speed and tight jeans days behind you Mio, a smaller but slightly more high-end retailer, offers an alternative for your Bianchi road bike: with a more advanced setup Mio suggests you hang your Bianchi bicycle on the wall creating an airy and more mature feeling. A bit more expensive. Sober and gloomy. Like your performance on Strava.

Mio, commercial with bicycle

But unless you only ride the bike from the front door to the living room and back neither IKEA nor Mio offers a decent alternative for people who use their bicycles outdoors. It’s quite disturbing that these two Swedish companies haven’t heard of rain, snow and other joys of the Swedish climate that make cyclists think twice before they bring bikes into their homes: only people who don’t care about snow melting and rusted chains dripping on the carpet do so I believe.

Fixed gear or road bike? Tell me what you ride and I’ll tell you what your living room should look like! Just don’t ask me, I don’t keep my bikes by the sofa. Please.