This Wednesday night Greg and I attended the open house for Po Campo's new line of fall fabrics for their rack and handlebar bags. The party was at De Fietsfabriek on Wells in Old Town. Jon from De Fiets had his new arrivals proudly on display along with the bags. It was an excellent opportunity to introduce ourselves personally to Emily and Maria after Emily's presentation to our class a few weeks ago. They were very excited about their new line and also eager to hear what kind of ideas we were coming up with. Emily told us they had just returned from Interbike - a trade show in Las Vegas - where their bags were featured on a runway fashion show of cycling accessories. It really sounds like they have a corner of the market that isn't being explored by other cycling apparel and accessories companies. It's a great opportunity for them and us to come up with new products with a style-based function for everyday cycling.
One of Po Campo's happy customers told me that something she always wanted, but could never find, was a shoe cover that would allow her to wear flats or flip flops without worrying about them getting caught on the pedals or something on the ground and being pulled off. With flip flops or sandals she was looking for something that would protect her toes from sharp objects, or even the pedal surface itself. We were very excited to hear this since one of our initial brainstorming ideas was an over-the-shoe boot for foul weather. This will help us expand that concept into a product that will hopefully interest Po Campo.
We're planning on meeting with Emily again soon to present some of our concepts.
