lemolo bags!

Dear Friends of Lemolo,

A lot of unfortunate and unforeseen things have happened in my life over the past couple months. Things you can’t really plan for. Some work related, some not. I’ve been really struggling to stay on top and tie up what seems to be never ending loose ends… but lately I feel as though I have been playing against a stacked deck and Lady Luck is not at my side.

After a lot of consideration I have decided to stop taking new orders. I plan on this being a temporary decision and hope to come back to work with a bunch of fresh ideas. I think I just need some time to figure life out right now.

Don’t worry! I will be fulfilling all my current bag orders. So, if your knee deep in the order process/have a deposit on a bag, don’t stress! I will be filling your order as planned. You know who you are.

Thanks for all the love and support!

-Elias Grey

Today I received emails from a couple people who’ve purchased bags from me… and they sent pictures! Getting thank you emails is pretty much the best thing ever. I’d like to thank everyone I’ve received follow-up emails from, it really means a lot to me.

—

Marissa has been using her Custom (Heather Size) Backpack in SF since March ‘08 and is about to take it with her on a 3 week trip to Europe. Thanks for the picture Marissa, have a fantastic trip!

P.S. I like your shoes.

Nick from Alabama, who got his Basket Bag about a week ago, didn’t waste any time getting a few pictures off to me. Here are a couple he took with the bag sitting snugly in the basket on his beautiful Kogswell P/R. Nice ride Nick!

There is a lot of really great stuff going on now, over the next few weeks, and all summer long here in Portland! So whether you live here or are just visiting, be sure to catch one of these great events! Here are a few things going on in the coming weeks…

• Mt. Tabor Race Series - A hilly 1.3 mile loop on Portland’s own ACTIVE VOLCANO!!!! …ok, it’s not actually an active lava spewing volcano… but that’d be sweet! Races run on six consecutive Wednesdays starting June 4th.
• The Towards Carfree Cities Conference Series - The fundamental role of the conference is to share knowledge and assist the practical work of conference participants, whether it be organizing community events, promoting urban cycling, or building the carfree cities of the future. It’s happening here in Portland June 16-20, 2008. Live Free or Drive!
• Cycle Seen - Picturing Portland’s Bike Culture. Cycle Seen is a Portland area art event happening all month long at 9 differnt locations. Find out more at cycleseen.org. Going on now and through the end of the month!
• Pedalpalooza - This bike fun extravaganza boast over 200 events (most are free) spanning a 2 week period. The madness begins on June 12th and dosen’t stop until the 28th… I guess it doesn’t have to stop then, does it? No. No, it doesn’t.
  

This is a short list of things going on here in Portland, if you have a Northwest area event going on that I failed to mention feel free to leave a comment and spread the word about it! More information on Portland area bike events and news can be found on these websites (and many others I’m sure)…

bikeportland.org

shift2bikes.org

obra.org

-Eli

P.S. Where the eff is the sun?! Aren’t we in June right now? …Do we say this every year or is this year being exceptionally wet and dreary?

The latest Lemolo to hit the streets of Portland… and it’s mine! That’s right, I made myself a new bag. If you see me around town, feel free to say hi. There is something unique about this bag, something I’ve not tried before. Check out the pictures and read about it below…

This is the very first bag to bare my logo… but that’s not what I’m getting at… the point is how it got there. I had my friend Keegan screen print it on, and I really couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out! Keegan and his girlfriend Katie work out of the same building as I do. They do amazing work, check them out… here… here… and here. I am considering offering screen printing as an option on the Lemolo LARGE Backpack. We are still working out the details, but it might be a reality soon. Personally, I am really excited about the prospects of this venture and look forward to working with Keegan on future projects. If you are thinking about a Lemolo LARGE Backpack and are interested in getting it screened let me know and we’ll see what we can work out.

I took some photos while Keegan was working. Here he is doing his thing…

finding the right paint and mixing it to exactly the right color.

getting everything lined up just right.

after a couple trial runs we are ready to go

and……… done!

Sooooo like I mentioned above. If your in the market for a big “messenger style” backpack and you wanna go all-out with it, let me know.

I leave for NYC tomorrow morning (eaaaaaarly) so I’ll be relatively unavailable for about a week. See ya when I get back!

-Eli

A Who’s Who in Portland style. I met Kendall on the street a few blocks from my house on one of the nicest days of spring Portland’s seen this year. She wanted to take my picture… claiming she was starting a new blog about style on Portland’s streets. It’s hard to say no to someone who tells you that you look good. Looks like my buddy Dylan couldn’t resist either!

Well, as it turns out she wasn’t lying! Kendall just started this blog called Portland Street Style. Basically, she is capturing everyday people who make Portland look the way it looks and feel the way it feels. Be sure to keep an eye on her blog for all the latest in style on the streets of PDX.

-Eli

P.S. Ooh… and if your a modeling agency wanting exclusive pics my price just doubled.

I have recently moved into a new workspace! Lemolo Bags are now made out of Radius Studios, located under the Morrison Bridge in SE Portland. I am happy to report that it was a car-free move! Heather and I don’t own a car, but we have friends that do and could have borrowed one. This was my first 100% car-free move, I found it to be a very fun and rewarding experience.

It is really exciting to be out of the house and into a real, dedicated workspace. I am hoping this will help boost my production and cut-down on wait time. The Office, The Shop, The Dungeon. All names I am tossing around that accuratly describe the windowless hole I will be spending much of my time in. We’ll see which one sticks.

Lots and lots of thanks to Aaron, Luke, Mike and Mom for all the help with the move!

-Elias

The big Filmed By Bike throwdown is tonight with showings all weekend long! Go, buy lots of raffle tickets, watch a bunch of short films!

See you tonight!

-Elias

Until recently I had no intention to make a larger backpack. Things change. My brother has been talking about converting from messenger bag to backpack… and it’s hard to say no to family. I told him I would give it my best shot.

Well, things came together much quicker and nicer than I could have hoped! After completing his bag I realized in retrospect that there were only a few very minor changes I would have made if I made another one (that’s a good sign). Sometimes it takes a few prototypes to really get what you want. I am very, very pleased with how it turned out and am thinking of making a few more! If you think you need a larger backpack than the Heather Size then check this one out!

This pack measures 10″x14″ at the base and has compression straps on the sides and bottom to hold things together when your not carrying a full load. Two extra large 3-D pockets hide under the main flap. Back padding and side pockets come standard. This backpack will also feature 2 rather large flat inside pockets as well.

This is serious baggage, by far the most technical of bags that I have made. I wanted to offer a lot of options with this bag (big pockets, compression straps, back padding, etc.) while still keeping it looking simple and un-cluttered.

The starting price for this bag will be $260. Email me if you think you might be intested in a Lemolo LARGE Backpack.

-Elias

The Lemolo Blog just broke the 30,000 views mark! Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!

So, Little Red Bike Cafe is our new favorite place to get a bite. It’s located just south of St. Johns in N. Portland which makes it a nice 9-10 mile ride from Southeast, and worth every pedal stroke!

They have light breakfast fare, sandwiches for lunch, homemade ice cream and other mouth-watering deserts, and great coffee to boot. Stumptown, you ask? Nope. They serve Courier Coffee, which is a very cool SE Portland based coffee roaster that delivers by bike! What? That’s not enough reason for you to ride all the way up there? What if I told you that you get a discount on your cup o’ coffee if you show up by bike aswell. In a hurry? Don’t worry they have a bike-thru window too, so if you need to you can just get it and go.

I’ll see you up there!