Good evening from Amsterdam!
I spend a large portion of my afternoon battling a clogged kitchen sink and emerged victorious without using any toxic drano stuff. That was preceded by fuzzed-out band room jamming on Friday and an art exhibition opening attended with friends on Saturday so the weekend feels like a win for sure.
On that note, here's some end of the week newsletter food for thought:
Days, months, and years all make sense as units of time—they match up, at least roughly, with the revolutions of Earth, the moon, and the sun.
Weeks, however, are much weirder and clunkier. A duration of seven days doesn’t align with any natural cycles or fit cleanly into months or years. – Joe Pinsker for The Atlantic
His article is an interview with David Henkin, a historian at UC Berkeley. Henkin's new book, The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are.
Sure it's fun to work for the weekend and do it all over again but wonder what a week is really about after all. I'm leaning towards a 4 day work week at Twotone but we haven't pulled the trigger yet.
What do you think?
Maybe then we'd jam at the office on Thursdays ; )
thank you, as always, for reading & sharing this newsletter,
Jon
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📷 banner image for our 7-year T by Kike Molares
Cycling
How It's Made: Ottolock's handmade build process
"Handmade bicycles have deservedly earned much caché for the beauty, attention to detail, and customization for the end user. But what about handmade accessories? Do we value the meticulous work that goes into the less glamorous bits of cycling we all rely on?"
Dan Cavallari went to Ottolock headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon to see the entire handmade build process from start to finish, and he learned it takes a whole lot of skill to build what appears outwardly to be a fairly simple accessory.
7-Year Snow Leopard Anniversary T
This pre-order for our 7-year anniversary long sleeve T is still going strong for one more week!
Thank you for all the orders so far! We're listing patches & will do a run of 7-year stickers too : )
SILCA made some waves with their 3d-printed titanium cleat launch last week.
At Twotone, we're proud to work with a brand that so regularly ruffles so many feathers by simply making vital products better!
Startups
Artist vs Artisan: what's the difference?
No spoiler alerts here. It is a complicated answer.
Ampler is hiring a mechanic in Amsterdam
Ampler bikes are made by a team of 130+ people spread between Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. This opening is to join the Amsterdam team working alongside the Showroom Manager and a Showroom Assistant & report to the Head of Warranty & Service.
Aphorisms for Thirsty Fish: The Lost Writings of Wu Hsin
“Expectation is the grandfather of disappointment.
The world can never own a man who wants nothing.”
And many more! Worth the click! : )
Friends
Cyclists Whistles – Vintage Bicycle Blog
During both Bespoked UK & the Philly Bike Expo, I hung out with the guys from Chater Lea.
Chater-Lea are delighted to have joined forces with J Hudson & Co. to create the ‘Chater-Lea Road Clearer’. I gifted one to my step-son Brayden. Now all the kids want one!
Marc Oosting & Boris Tellegen at Gallery Vriend van Bavink
I went with friends to the opening of @marc_oosting - @boris_tellegen at Gallery Vriend van Bavink.
One of the pieces is a playable pinball machine!
5 QUESTIONS FOR: Frog Bikes
My friend Lian of Shift Cycling Culture, recently published the latest in her 5 QUESTIONS FOR series with Frog Bikes. It is interview series with cycling brands that are trying to step up their game when it comes to reducing environmental impact.
Look out for Lian's guest spot on The Mechanics of Joy soon too!
Radness
Kings of the Big Rings & Silk Road Mountain Race Footage
Fish (drums), Hidde (guitar) & I (guitar) took another stab at our flavor of desert rock on Friday. Then Fish layered it over clips he has from Kyrgyzstan in 2018.
Here is a clip with us playing ; )
Enjoy!
p.s. hardly our real band name but sounds funny for sure!