Floyd A. O'Reilly Blog: BikeCraft vendor spotlights: Drew Devereux, CNOC Outdoors, Sprockettes

Time for round three of our 2018 BikeCraft vendor mini-profiles thanks to our friend Elly Blue from Microcosm Publishing.

Here are three more of the talented folks and interesting products you’ll find at this year’s event…

Drew Devereux – website

Last year’s BikeCraft featured a serious gap in the vendor lineup: We had no cycling cap maker! And for a while it looked like we wouldn’t have anyone this year either. But now, to my relief and delight, you’ll have two cap-makers to choose from, and they’ve coordinated with each other to provide the best selection possible for y’all. One of them is first-time vendor and self-taught cap-maker Drew Devereux.

What are you bringing to BikeCraft? What’s the most important thing people should know about it?
Cycling caps! About half of them with cotton from Mill End in Milwaukee,; with the rest with Pendleton wool from their scrap bin. One size fits most (55 to 60cm), although the fit varies a bit since they are all handmade. They are all based on a Columbus 3 panel cycling cap I have had for 25 years. Besides being a place for advertisement or decoration, cycling caps work great for keeping the hair in place, blocking oncoming headlamps or the sun’s glare, and—when pulled down towards the nose—taking a nap. They fit under helmets, and can help keep rain off of glasses.

Tell us about yourself—what events in your life led you to be doing this bikey craft?
I started making caps out of necessity because it was hard to find a cycling cap that fit me. I reverse engineered my old Columbus cap and set about to make a new one based on its pattern. Making them was a lot harder than I thought it would be! I tried different materials and sewing strategies over the years. Some were given to friends, and with their feedback (and my impressions since I wear one almost all the time), and over a decade of intermittent experimenting, it evolved into how I make them today. While the caps I made have been mostly for personal use, I think they are good enough now to put out there at BikeCraft, so I am making a big batch of them.

What’s your favorite BikeCraft memory?
I have been to 3 of of them and it always felt like going to a party as much as a place to buy cool bikey things.

CNOC Outdoors – website

When we put out the call for vendors, my college classmate Lauren Hudgins asked if the company she works for would be a good fit. We like to have at least one gadget to show off at the event that isn’t strictly handmade, and she got this year’s slot. Cnoc’s portable water bags that fit many filters seem like a lightweight boon for bikepackers and tourers—come check one out.

What are you bringing to BikeCraft? What’s the most important thing people should know about it?
We’re bringing Vectos [ https://ift.tt/2FNzIPL ]: foldable water containers designed in Portland that connect to Sawyer filters, or a HydroBlu Versa Flow, or a LifeStraw Flex. We’ll also have gravity filtering systems that come with a HydroBlu Versa Flow. When you’re bike packing or bike touring being able to produce safe water from whatever sources are available can be critical.

Tell us about yourself—what events in your life led you to be doing this bikey craft?
Gilad Nachmani began Cnoc Outdoors a couple years ago as a way to produce the hiking gear he needed but couldn’t find on the market. I’m coming in as a cyclist who has done a lot of bike camping and sees the benefit of the Vecto for bike packing or bike touring.

The Sprockettes – website

Portland’s original all-women mini-bike dance troupe hardly needs an introduction in these pages. We asked the Sprockettes to be a part of BikeCraft this year not as performers but in their community engagement role: They’ll be running a helmet decorating station for kids (of all ages!), as well as slinging their own merch.

What are you bringing to BikeCraft? What’s the most important thing people should know about it?
We are bringing handmade Sprockettes merchandise including jewelry, patches, magnets, and all kinds of crafty materials for a bike helmet decoration station.

Tell us about yourself—what events in your life led you to be doing this bikey craft?
The Sprockettes are a DIY Mini Bike Dance Team, it only seemed natural to make our own bikey merch. As performers, we incorporate BMX bikes in choreography by exploring their uses as dance partner and prop. Since founding The Sprockettes in 2004, we have seen more than 40 member Agents grace the performance stage and add to the bike dance creativity. For nearly 10 of those years we have been hosting a Girls’ Summer Camp, where we train little Spockettes in acro-balancing, bike tricks, and dance, culminating in a performance at the end of a 2 day camp. It is so amazing to see our little Sprockettes gain confidence with their bikes! As part of performance preparation we spend time decorating our bikes, and for BikeCraft, we will host helmet decoration!

What’s your favorite BikeCraft memory?
We are super excited to see the bike helmet creations of participants! We also want to help teach best bike helmet wearing practices to all sizes of bikers.

Learn more about BikeCraft at the official website.

— Elly Blue/Microcosm Publishing

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