Celebrating the art of framebuilding, MADE, an all-new handmade bike show set to debut this summer, has sold out its exhibitor space in just one week's time — something the organizers say must be some kind of record.
"I'm blown away; just speechless. There clearly is a real demand for custom, handmade bikes. I'm not about to call the Guinness Book of World Records but I've certainly never seen a show sell out this quickly," says Billy Sinkford, VP of ECHOS Communications and the show's co-creator.
Held in Portland, Oregon this August, the show has sold out its 150 exhibitor booths, and will showcase the craft of more than 100 frame builders from the world over, including the U.S. and Canada, the U.K., Italy and Japan.
American bike shows and trade event like Interbike and the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) have really struggled in recent years with year-after-year cancellations and some calling its quits all-together citing lack of exhibitor and industry support.
The overwhelming interest in MADE is encouraging and may, in part, be due to its new model. The four-day event will have two industry only days designed specifically around media opportunities, content creation and community building. These are followed by two consumer-facing days with the goal of helping the brands reach new audiences.
All of this will take place in an outdoor venue at the the iconic Rose Quarter, a 30-acre sports and entertainment district located in Portland's Lloyd District. This not only makes the show easily accessible, it also allows for plenty of room to display products and for consumers and journalists to test-ride the bikes on offer.
"We could not be more excited about the show location as we can bring the best of an indoor trade show experience to the outdoors in the heart of the city,” says Sinkford.
While technically sold out, Sinkford says they're holding a few subsidized spaces for new builders or those with financial hardships.
MADE is also partnering with BikeFlights to subsidize the shipping costs with an overarching goal of creating equality amongst builders and to spotlight smaller companies, new talent and those who haven't yet received much exposure.
"There's certainly appetite for builders to show off their craft, but [selling out] is simply benchmark number one. Now the work really begins," says Sinkford. "We'll have thousands of people coming through the Rose Quarter and we've got a show to put on!"
The MADE media and industry only days will take place August 24 and 25. The show will open to the public on August 26 and 27.
On display will be more than 100 bike builders from around the globe as well as dozens of component and accessory brands. Learn more at www.made.bike.
