Text by Shinya Tanaka Photo by Rie Sawada
What is there in the northern part of the West Coast?
There is Intel, there are universities, there are people, and there are cities.
There was even a TV drama called "Oregon Kara Ai" (Love from Oregon).
Oregon is now home to Portland, famous as the representative bike town of the United States.
It hosts Vanilla Works, a leading figure among American builders,
and the American office of Rapha, the maverick of cycling apparel.
There is even UBI, a school that trains bike builders,
and with a population of about 550,000, there are more than 40 builders.
I visited such a city purely to make an effort to move forward,
not for sightseeing.
Absolutely not...
To Downtown
First, I wandered around the city of Portland.
How many years has it been since I last went downtown?
Downtown = a stereotypical uncool place,
was my values.
That is starting to change little by little.
Perhaps, right now, it is a place where land prices have fallen and it still attracts people's curiosity,
and certain kinds of people are trying to draw out new charm and value.
Ah, shall I run out to downtown?
Yes, people change, and so do cities.
“Just married…” ”coffee…”
“I love bearing…” ”cargo bike…”
And here is something quite cool I found while wandering around.
Do you get it? This becomes that, and like this.
The bike is a Glove by Specialized with DI-2 installed.
I tried hitting on the young woman at the shop saying "It's awesome, baby,"
but instead, I ended up getting talked into buying six cycling caps.
Cool.
PhilosophyBag
PhilosophyBag is created in a small town with a tranquil environment, a bit away from Portland.
On the far right is Troy, the representative of Philosophy. His role is to constantly hold onto many ideas and turn them into reality.
He is the center, and he runs it with three women.
many kind of pro to type
This is how they are made one by one. It takes time.
PhilosophyBag starts with creating the fabric by sandwiching a waterproof, breathable film between Twill and Canvas.
They cut that, punch out leather patterns, and emboss them.
The three women, each in their own step, sew them together firmly.
Finally, Troy inspects them and sends them out into the world.
There are still many things that don't go well, and small mistakes happen.
That doesn't mean it's good, but that human imperfection is an important selection point for me.
We become partners who correct those things together and transform them into better forms.
If only those who can understand that I am dealing with them with such feelings can understand, I would be content.
And the things created by such people are incredibly warm,
beautiful in their simplicity, and full of kindness.