Interbike 2014 Media Kit
INTRODUCING THE RE BIKE BY WISHBONE Created from carpet, ready for the road The most customizable kids balance bike on the market
A Good Bike Fits Just Right: Introducing the Ultimate Customizable Kids Bike, Made from Carpet RE Bike Reduces Landfill Waste, Grows with Child for Total Custom Ride Interbike, LAS VEGAS, September 8, 2014 – Fit matters – it’s something cyclists just know. But now New Zealand based Wishbone Design says the same should apply to kids bikes too. Their answer: the RE bike, perhaps the most customizable, eco-friendly kids bike on the world market today. And it’s made entirely from residential U.S. carpet. Available immediately, the RE Bike from Wishbone is like no other kids’ bike. From production process to first sidewalk scoot, the RE bike is a purposeful combination of environmentally supportive design and modern good looks. Each bike is manufactured from nylon sourced entirely from 100 percent recycled residential U.S. carpet instead of oil. For each RE made, Wishbone diverts 7.5 lbs of residential carpet from landfill and reduces the need for 7.5 gallons of oil. The RE is also the first bike ever to be made using gas injection molding, a patent-pending technique that allows complex organic shapes to be made for strength and to minimize weight, expense and waste.
“We made the RE bike to fit the way families live as well as make a positive impact on the environment,” says Jenny McIver, Director Marketing and co-founder, Wishbone Design. “So we worked hard to combine a new production process with a smart, customizable design that grows with a child from age 12 months to six years.” Smart Design for Growing Kids: ROTAFIX THREE WAY ADJUSTMENT The RE Bike is also typical of Wishbone products: designed for ultimate flexibility and long life use. Thanks to Rotafix™ by Wishbone, a unique, integrated three-way seat and frame adjustment system, the RE bike can be precision fit to any child from 12 months to six years. As a child grows, parents simply loosen a central bolt on the RE Bike frame and then rotate the Rotafix frame before lifting and leveling the seat to match the height and riding position of their child. In one integrated adjustment, parents can micro fit their child in seconds. In Spring 2015, parents will also be able to add a chain system to any RE bike, taking the RE all the way from infant trike to sixyear-old urban road bike. Customization The RE bike by Wishbone is the most customizable child’s bike on the market. Thanks to the Wishbone Trike Kit, which includes trike rear axel, the RE can be configured as a trike for the youngest riders as well as a fully-adjustable two-wheeler as the child ages. Easy slip on, stain resistant silicone covers are also available in seven colors as well as a variety of frame stickers and colored handlebar grips. “We’re busy parents of little kids ourselves,” adds co-founder and designer Richard Latham. “So we’re designing products that need little set up and as few adjustments as possible. It’s about creating products that have the built in smarts and durability to last a family for years, saving them money and reducing the need for countless other toys and trikes along the way.” For more information visit www.wishbonedesign.com.
About Wishbone Design (www.wishbonedesign.com) Based in Wellington, NZ, Wishbone Design designs, build and markets beautiful, sustainable and eco-supportive products for children and families across the world. Products are designed for long-life durability and the design flexibility and adaptility to grow with the changing needs of children and their families. Wishbone believes in minimal environmental impact and making a difference at the personal, local and global levels. Wishbone products are now sold in 45 countries.
NEW FROM WISHBONE DESIGN STUDIO: The new classic family wagon
Wishbone Studio Brings New Classic Wagon to U.S. Mid Century Inspired Aesthetic, Multi-Mode Wagon for Active Families Interbike, LAS VEGAS, September 8-12, 2014 – Wishbone Design Studio expands its U.S. line of beautiful, sustainable products for 2015 with the introduction and availability stateside of the Wishbone Wagon. Designed with a nod to mid century American furniture classics and made from environmentally sustainable birch, the Wagon transforms during play and as a child ages for long-life use. In an age when so many children’s products are made from plastics and designed with a short life expectancy, the sustainable beech Wishbone Wagon is something of a throw back to an earlier age – albeit with a totally modern, environmentally supportive twist. “The Wagon is a great example of how we’re trying to design all of our products today,” says Jenny McIver, co-founder Wishbone Design Studio. “It’s about making a minimal impact on the environment and a maximum impact on a child’s life and a family’s active enjoyment over the years. We’re not expecting our wagons to be replaced after a year or two; they’re intended to be passed down to a new generation with the marks and memories of a life well lived.” Equal parts classic wagon, soap-box racer and foot-to-floor car, the Wishbone Wagon brings the best of the past and the present together in an innovative heirloom design. Designed for children from 12 months to 10 years old, the Wagon offers a number of modes and set up combinations that allow it to grow with the skills and needs of a child. The Wishbone Wagon is child’s play to transform: it comes with three handle positions for push & pull play, a steer-or-stow steering wheel, and flip-up base for foot-to-floor fun. Manufactured from sustainably grown birch wood and complete with real, air-filled tires, its stands apart from other wagons. Headquartered in New Zealand, but selling products in 45 countries worldwide, Wishbone Design, has earned a reputation for creating toys that delight children while reducing overall family consumption of similar toys and delivering a positive environmental outcome.
“We’re aiming to build products that reduce the consumption of many others and hopefully keep throw away items out of landfill,” adds McIver. The Wishbone Wagon adapts to suit every child any day. It’s ideal for families and kids to pull gear or the family toddler to the beach or farmers’ market with ease. But also simple enough for children to play together, one child pushing while the other steers. Installing the steering wheel is simple and transforms the Wagon into a soapbox racer for the park. Or flip up up the floor base for individual foot-to-floor driving fun. For more information visit www.wishbonedesign.com.
About Wishbone Design (www.wishbonedesign.com) Based in Wellington, NZ, Wishbone Design designs, build and markets beautiful, sustainable and eco-supportive products for children and families across the world. Products are designed for longlife durability and the design flexibility and adaptility to grow with the changing needs of children and their families. Wishbone believes in minimal environmental impact and making a difference at the personal, local and global levels. Wishbone products are now sold in 45 countries.
The Wishbone Story: Brand Background
Wishbone balance bikes were destined to be different from the start. The first prototype was sketched out and then lovingly handmade in the cramped bathroom of industrial designer, Kiwi ex pat and stay at home dad Richard Latham’s 20th floor New York City Apartment. Over the course of several weeks he snuck tools and lumber past the building’s doorman and went to work perfecting a balance bike that could help young son Noah keep up on their daily brisk walks around Central Park. Fast-forward a few years and Wellington, NZ-based Wishbone Design Studio, co-founded by husband and wife team Richard Latham and Jenny McIver is on a mission to design future classics and do good locally and globally. While Richard designs and continually improves the studio’s selective line of balance bikes and other transformational products for young children, Jenny manages worldwide marketing, strategy and sales. The combination of sustainable materials, eco-friendly production values as well as impeccable, urban-chic design and the couple’s focus on the joy of childhood has introduced Wishbone to families in more than 45 countries worldwide. Transformational design Every product designed by Wishbone is designed to do two things: to help change the way kids think and play and to grow and transform with the child.
The first Wishbone bike was designed to grow with the child: starting as a three wheeled trike, then morphing into a pedalless bike to teach balance and confidence, and finally by flipping the frame and adjusting the seat, a fun scoot bike for kids up to five. New Introductions At Wishbone Design Studio, the design process never stops. New introductions now include the Wishbone RE Bike, made entirely from reclaimed and recycled resdential American carpet fibres, and the Wishbone Wagon, a stunning mid-century inspired pull along wagon that transforms into a pedalless car for toddlers. In 2015, the Wishbone RE bike will be offered with an add-on chain set to transform from early child balance bike to full urban bicycle for kids up to six years old. Quick Wishbone Facts • Wishbone bikes transform with growing kids • Sustainable, European birchwood and eco-friendly production • Recycled, chlorine free packaging materials, non toxic-inks • Winner of multiple international design awards, including TIME Style & Design Award for influential design • Compliant with all appropriate international safety standards • Additional Limited Edition Specials each year celebrating important environmental or educational causes • Contact: www.wishbonedesign.com