We’re excited to exhibit PUBLIC WORKS at one of our favorite local establishments Mission Bowling Club from February 26-May 20, 2013.

We invited a group of world-renowned designers to interpret the concept of “public” in their own voice and style, to play with the word itself if they desired, and to design large scale posters around these ideas.

To launch this exhibition, we’re hosting an PUBLIC WORKS Opening Party on Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 6-9pm. We’ll offer special deals at the Opening Party on PUBLIC WORKS posters and t-shirts. Join us to inaugurate this exhibition while enjoying no-host food and full bar at Mission Bowling Club. Make a lane reservation to go bowling that evening too. We’ll raffle some special prizes too.

JOIN US FOR THE OPENING PARTY
When: Tuesday, Feb 26 from 6-9pm
Where: Mission Bowling Club (3176 17th St @ S. Van Ness)
What: Design Exhibition, No-Host Food & Drinks, Raffle
BONUS: First 20 guests who buy drinks and mention PUBLIC WORKS receives a free PUBLIC WORKS Book.

I received an email out of the blue last week from a childhood friend whom I had not heard from since 8th grade. The year was 1967.  We were mid-century modern kids growing up in suburban South Pasadena, right along the Pasadena Freeway (ostensibly the first freeway in the world). His note to me said: “Will never forget going to the beach with your mom in her Volvo.”

I don’t remember that specific beach trip, but I sure remember my Mom’s car: a 1967 Volvo P1800, a sexy red sports car that hauled ass with a “high tech” flip switch overdrive, an elegant dashboard, and a body shaped like a cute rocket. There were not a lot of Swedish cars on the road then, so it probably stood out like a yellow Tesla or Ferrari would today. My mom was a way-left Irish feminist college teacher, hardly a car buff, and had no interest in design or mechanics. To her, the Volvo was a statement of identity and freedom.

My response to Kent was: “I remember riding on the back of your Dad’s Matchless.”

The Matchless was a classic British motorcycle, and Kent’s Dad was a true car and motorcycle buff.  He was a middle class husband and father – not a collector – but the guy had a Jaguar XJ12, a 52 Ford and his wife drove a 58 Thunderbird. He also had several motorcycles.  I remember riding his Honda 50 on his front lawn, going dirt bike riding and flying down the Pasadena Freeway on the back of his Matchless. I don’t think we had even the concept of a helmet then. He gave Kent a 1962 Austin Mini 850 when he turned fifteen. These vehicles are all beloved classic mid century design on a par with Eames chairs or Schindler architecture.  The modern movement was in its infancy and Southern California was the epicenter. Gas was $0.31 a gallon. It was on.

Back then cars were about sex, freedom, style, and independence. They were also about mobility and access. They were our social networking devices. They provided us with what teenagers and youth of today get from their Smartphones and the Web: connectivity.  But you can travel a lot farther, see more, and meet more people, with digital technology than you can with a car, and for a lot less money.

Fast-forward fifty years. Volvos are now about Safety, not Sex.  And we are faced with the problems and challenges that the car’s usurpation of much of our public space (and co-option of our lifestyle) has created.  In the 50’s suburban sprawl had not yet cast its spell all over America. Parking lots surrounded by chain link fences were not common in the hearts of cities.  Streetcar lines had not yet been ripped up by automobile companies. Regional shopping malls had not yet been created to lure people away from Main Street.  Traffic jams were the exception not the rule. We did not know anything about climate change or that cars would become (and still are) the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 34 and responsible for more deaths than all of our wars combined. And, to add insult to injury, cars would eventually all look about the same, getting big and boxy in shades of silver and black. We were asleep at the wheel while all this was going on.

It has not all been a one-way slide downwards since the 1960’s. When Kent and I were kids there was so much smog in LA that we were wheezing all through the summer. Lead was later removed from gas and the air quality improved dramatically. The environmental movement took shape.  A few mass transit systems, e.g. BART in the Bay Area, were funded. But it took decades before it occurred to us that we should try to make our cities amenable to us, not our cars.

Today, the “white flight” to the suburbs has been reversed with “bright flight” back to cities. Many Millennials and the youth are choosing to live without a dependence on cars and are exhibiting a true passion and connection for their communities.* Cities all round the world have radically improved their pedestrian infrastructure in the last few decades. Riding a bike has become mainstream in many cities.  The most recent email I’ve received from Kent is very hopeful:  “My daughter lives in downtown LA and rides her bike everywhere she needs to go.”

You are part of this change.  Thanks.

We have not come full circle, but we are making headway in many of our cities. And you are part of this progressive change. You have helped to make our cities more livable. You have also made us (PUBLIC) more livable – you have kept us in business into what is now our third year.  We feel lucky to be in a business that is predicated on positive social change and improved urban living and one that puts smiles on people’s faces. We hope that our bikes will bring you independence, connectivity, and some of the same sexiness and style that cars did half a century ago.

Thanks,

Rob

* To learn about this subject in detail from an expert, get Jeff Speck’s latest book Walkable City. Jeff is a leading spokesperson for more enlightened urban planning, the co-author of Suburban Nation, and witty and brilliant. We will have a review of this book next week.

Rob is the Chief PUBLIC Servant. He founded PUBLIC because of his belief that well-designed PUBLIC spaces are the bedrock of civilization.

Polka dots are a decorative element that we rarely associate with the Holiday season, and that’s precisely why we are introducing them right now.  They have a habit of cropping up in the most unexpected situations. And when they do they almost always bring a smile on our faces.

It’s goofy enough to be appropriate for clowns and serious enough to go on the jersey for the King of the Mountain award in the Tour de France.  They are often associated with kids’ gear but actually crop up more often in accessories and visual statements by the most sophisticated designers.

Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera put them on dresses and caused a sensation all over her country. Last season, Louis Vuitton invited Yayoi Kusama to bring her famous polka dots into the forefront of the fashion world.

Buddy Guy put them on this Fender Stratocaster.

They were made famous in yellow from a 1960’s Bubblegum Pop song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss that made it to the Top Ten charts in many countries with hilarious refrain “One, two, three, four/Tell the people what she wore”, and “Stick around, we’ll tell you more”. Listen here. But they are in no way related to the Polka dance as some have suggested.

I have some on a Paul Smith tie that never ceases to draw comments (loved in London, despised in Paris).

Once you start looking for them they crop up in many places. You have to respect Polka Dots for their audacity as well as their humor.  Unlike their cousin Stripes for example, they ignore the form they attach themselves to and steal our eyes attention.  They play with us.

We have helmets with polka dots, but this is our first bike. The red polka dot print is on the cream PUBLIC C7, our most popular 7-speed step-thru city bike. It’s a limited edition one-time shot, and a great way to surprise someone for the holidays.

We’re closing out this holiday season with a PUBLIC Holiday Thank You & Year End Sale Party on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 11am-4pm at 123 South Park.

We want to thank our local Bay Area customers. Please join us & bring your friends. Plan to linger, shop, and meet new PUBLIC friends at our festive event.

Please spread the word via Facebook.

Bikes For Sale
If you’re thinking about buying a PUBLIC bike for yourself before the end of the year, we’ll have a handful of discounted bikes ready to roll to take home. We have a handful of remaining bikes from our last Warehouse Sale. Also come check out our new $399 PUBLIC S7 & PUBLIC T7 bikes, as well our new Red Polka Dot PUBLIC C7. We’ll also feature our New Products, including the Handlebar Flower Vase, PUBLIC Stripe Fenders, and Italian Wool Scarves.

Up to 50% off Select Gear
Need last minute gifts for your friends and family? We’ll have our gear and accessories at special store-only prices. Need gift ideas? Check out our Holiday Gift Guides.

Tasty Food & Drinks
We’ll provide beer, wine, tacos, and snacks for all shoppers.

PUBLIC Holiday Year-End Sale & Thank You Party
Saturday, Dec. 15, 2011, 11am-4pm
123 South Park
San Francisco, CA

Save on select PUBLIC bikes
Last minute holiday gifts under $20
Up to 50% off select non-bike merchandise

Anyone who RSVPs on Facebook & makes a purchase during this event will receive a free copy of our PUBLIC WORKS Exhibition Book.

PUBLIC has invited our favorite designers & food vendors to showcase their products at our Oakland store & warehouse for a Holiday Mart on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 11am-4pm.

This is a great opportunity to shop & find some new gifts for family & friends.

Here is the tentative list of vendors:

Join us at our Jack London District store on December 8 from 11am-4pm at 205 Alice Street at 2nd (across from Amtrak station at Jack London Square).

Anyone who RSVPs on Facebook & makes a purchase during this event will receive a free copy of our PUBLIC WORKS Exhibition Book.

Please share the event with your friends via Facebook.

We’ve partnered with our friends at Harrington Galleries to invite a few more of our favorite designers to showcase at our Mission Xchange on Sunday, Dec. 16 from 11am-6pm.

This is a great opportunity to shop & find some new gifts for family & friends.

Also enjoy Malaysian street food provided by mamakSF.

Here is the tentative list of vendors:

Join us at Mission Xchange on December 16 from 11am-6pm at 599 Valencia

Every time I go to New York I find further examples of how a city can find new bold ways to improve the streets for residents. The bike lane programs instituted under Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation Janette Sadik-Khan are steadily being expanded and have received international attention. And I find new examples of taking back streets for civilian uses like these concrete cones creating an urban walkway.

The challenge of protecting our streets and communities from excess noise and traffic has been with us as far back as we can see. Here’s a shot I took in Pompeii showing traffic calming technology dating back to 79 AD (when Vesuvius erupted and covered the city with ashes). Large stones kept oversized horse drawn carts or speeding chariots from rolling through residential areas where pedestrians deserved the right of way.

I found another creative use of traffic obstruction in Havana a few years ago. Canons were appropriated from the prior military regime and repurposed – quite elegantly and comically towards car control. Bringing a little humor to the urban environment might help to cure road rage.

In our back yard in San Francisco parklets are popping up all over the city. We had fun with one temporary take over of car parking space a month ago. Balloons waved in the wind putting smiles on the faces of passer-bys and made our street corner festive, at least for a day.

Our friends at Rapha celebrate the launch their parklet this Friday from 4:00-9:00 pm in San Francisco (Filbert St. @ Filmore St.) with a party. This will be a permanent parklet and, like everything for Rapha, is done with panache and style. Please join us if you are in the Bay Area this week.

Rob is the Chief PUBLIC Servant. He founded PUBLIC because of his belief that well-designed PUBLIC spaces are the bedrock of civilization.

A lot of new t-shirts just arrived at PUBLIC. Sharp enough to wear on their own. Comfy enough to layer with your favorite sweater. Add a pop of color to your winter wardrobe. Check out the whole collection.