Introducing the Clank Plank Light (beta). When ClankWorks first started, this was a kernel of an idea that we hoped to someday achieve. While other products have taken the forefront as of late, we slowly kept mulling over how to make a fender that also doubled as a rear light, minimizing the number of items on a bike, but still increasing visibility.

This fender takes our (now, after lots of learning and trial and error) extensive knowledge of laminated bamboo fibers and adds a flexible string of LEDs to the mix. We had grown tired of injection-molded lights, and strived to achieve something different. There was also a desire to keep this integration as minimal, in aesthetics, as possible. By keeping the light source a thin layer away from the surface, the fender maintains it’s beauty by day, but is now incredibly practical at night.

There are still lots of hurdles to overcome, and testing to be done, before this becomes a sold item. We also are looking for feedback to see if it is worth bringing to market. So if you like what you see here, and would want one within the next 6 months, please give us a shout. With this fully functional, weather-proof prototype, we can garner the information needed from the real world about how well this will work. Expect more photos as we work through that process.

The decision was made to streamline things a bit to reduce clutter, and to get the focus back on what we have wanted to do: make damned good things for bicycles. More on that in a bit! As for the website, images may not be sized correctly for the next few days in the blog. We are working on this, the automatic-resize feature didn’t go as planned, and we can only resize them once the new look is in place, so things will be wonky a bit.

If you find an area of the site is not functioning, looks weird, looks bad, or otherwise just needs some help, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Additionally, if you find any area lacking in information following this slim-fast diet, please let us know.

As to some production changes: Product life-spans are going to shorten, as we aim to create and evolve our works from here on out. Please let us know if there is something you’ve been dying to see, we would love some new challenges. Fear not, we also have a few ideas up our sleeves as well, this first and foremost of which is announced with this site launch.

We heard everyone asking for a vertical, wall based storage solution loud and clear! May we present…Perch!

Perch is designed to hold your bicycle vertically against your wall, as well as providing hooks and a small shelf space for storage of your accessories: locks, helmets, lights and keys to name a few that we use personally. We are excited to introduce what we consider one of the prettier vertical bikes racks, and are taking pre-orders immediately. We expect to ship the first 20 in October, and already have a small inventory built in the dark color.

Do check out the entire blog posting here. If you want some additional hand crafted delights, do check out the rest of his work on the website as well.

We are currently expecting to ship new orders out with about a two week turn-around. Since each Pinch is hand crafted, there is a sufficient amount of labor required before we can ship, and needless to say we are currently out of any inventory. If you have any concerns about delivery times, please just email us.

We wanted to share some photos of the Pinch process as well. In this post you will see the holes being drilled, and initial cutting happening as well. Further trimming and shaping occurs to get Pinch into it’s final form. Similar to the fenders, each stand gets a thorough sanding process followed by two coats of penetrating oil. To make sure Pinch continues to look as good as your ride, we finish off each stand with a thin coat of shellac. Should any dirt or grime find it’s way onto the stand, simply take a damp cloth to it to clean off.

The interest in past objects as things of value is never mentioned in the latest eco-blog or Portland-based zine. The reclamation, appreciation and preservation of these antiques is arguably one of the most sustainable practices one can partake in. In reality, this is a hobby, or profession, which does not garner enough attention or praise. Worse yet, will the niche market even exist in a decade? Gone in a century?

With today’s throw-away culture, perhaps in different industries worldwide, there is little motivation to keep an object beyond its built-in lifespan. Certain industries have escaped this grim fate, such as the automobile. Here, the cream of the crop is still retained, pride remains in the premium or rare products. Will there still be appreciation for a 1992 Chrysler LeBaron in fifty years? WIll one even exist? The same can be said of incredibly popular, but less “innovative” products, such as the fourth generation iPod,  the handheld Dyson vacuum cleaner, or any of the hundreds of new models of Nike shoes.

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The blame should not be place on culture, nor on any one catalyst. Instead the point should be taken under consideration both by producers and consumers alike. It is arguable that the age of plastics killed the antique. Thousands of injection molded artifacts would be hard pressed to hold value as well as a hand crafted chair from the 19th century. It is just as easy to argue that the digital age ushered in the destruction of this type of appreciation, as knowledge is now freely traded. Objects are used only to access this knowledge, why would they themselves hold value? Under this mantra, even the Gutenberg Bible has little value compared to the revision trackable, alternative comparable web 2.0 versions flooding the web.

A carpenter or furniture wright earned a higher wage the more solidly constructed the table he built was, as it would last longer and suit it’s purpose more appropriately. In many industries today, however, the faster an Industrial Designer shames “last year’s” design, the fatter his paycheck.

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These are of course all generalizations, many out of context to underline the point. Further research could, and should, be done on the subject before any statements are made. The core thought and interjection still remains, what happened to the appreciation of antiques, and will such an art exist in 50 years?