I don’t believe in randomness or fate. So what else is there? Circumstance I guess. Some of us are lucky enough to start with something, anything. Knowing when or how to use it is the key. I am lucky. I was born a white male, in Canada to middle class parents. I am Jewish but if you’re going to choose a minority to be, that’s not bad. All I am saying is that I have been given opportunities for these reasons alone. I am not in Haiti or Pakistan or Afghanistan and I know how lucky I am.

Part 1
My parents moved from the U.S. to Toronto in the early 70’s. Jobs were good, Canadian politics seemed a lot more civilized, more left leaning perhaps. My Dad was a bike racer so when my parents arrived in Toronto, the old man, who would have been a few years younger than I am today, went around to the various bike shops, trying to identify the bike scene here. Mike Barry and Mike Brown’s Bicycle Sport shop had been open a few years and my Dad quickly established this as the place to be. The Mikes were already building Mariposa Bicycles at this point and were developing a good reputation and a strong following. My Dad Mike, number three or four, started riding with them and ultimately joined the club, Britannia C.C. The Barry’s were to be my parent’s oldest friends in Canada. A few years later us kids came along. My brother was born in 1974. The next year Mike Barry looked at my Mom and said, “were going to have one of those” pointing to my brother in the carriage and soon came Michael Jr. In late May of 1978 my brother was dropped off at the Barry’s house while my parents went to the hospital, I arrived a few hours later. Circumstances you see.

Part 2
I have always been a maker. As a kid I made things of all sorts, shoebox mazes for my gerbils, clay objects, and drawings. In my high school years, among other things, pipes made of found objects for my friends. It didn’t matter. I was lucky enough to have parents who sent me to art classes as a kid fostering my interests. When it was time to go to college the art realm was never questioned. It was not what would I do, but what would I make. I spent six years in school studying mostly ceramics, some sculpture, design, art history etc. Most people think art school is easy, maybe it is. But I think it is as hard as you want to make it. Like anything, you can settle in or push yourself. Every day I questioned how, what, why and why and why? I thought I was going to go on to do my Master’s, get a teaching gig in Ceramics and keep making things, ceramic things. I was well lined up for this but something changed along the way. Three or four years went by with a bit of travel and this and that but most of the time was spent working and trying to keep my studio open.

Part 3
This is when things came together a bit. As well as being a maker, I have always been a cyclist. Yeah I tried some races in my younger years (at 10 or so) but they inevitably turned into nice rides in the country. In 2005 Mike Barry, knowing my interest in bikes and also being aware I was a keen maker of things, asked me to work for him. He was short a painter and thought it would suit me well. Indeed. My focus was still my own work but I knew this was a rare opportunity. I spent three years with him, and builder Tom Hinton. These were the last three years of Mariposa and Bicycle Specialties. I learned a lot from them and I learned how to paint. I also got to see and work on things many don’t, the classics, maybe the beginnings: Bianchis, Rene Herses, Claude Butlers, CCMs, etc. Many examples of these still hang from our rafters. In 2007 Mike decided it was time to pack it in. Fourty years on and he had had enough of running the business and wanted to spend more time working on those old classics at his leisure. He has a massive collection, enough to keep us all busy for some time. The business was offered to me to take over. We would keep Tom on building and I would paint and keep track of customers and accounting. My interest was still in my own work though. I loved painting and bicycles but with this there would have been nowhere for me to go. I sadly turned it down, perhaps sadly for both of us. Some thought I had horseshoes in uncomfortable places and was being foolish but it was not right. Through this, new circumstances were born. I either had to find a new job or start my own business. Mike had recently bought the space we had been working out of to store and work on his bikes. So…

Part 4
January 1st, 2008 I started Velocolour Bicycle Painting. It’s funny how things go. Even then I liked it but this was still a job. My studio work and shows remained the focus. It is only in the past year and half, maybe two years that painting has really become my primary interest and now I can think of nothing better. It was a bit of a slow start, some lean times with bikes trickling in. I, and others, weren’t sure there were enough bikes around to paint full time. I figured more people had to know what I was up to add it would all work out. This is the nice thing about painting. It is affordable enough for people who just like nice objects. Word grew quickly and a little NAHBS award can do wonders. For most the progression from painting is into frame building. I have little interest in this though. I am building, slowly, a bike for myself now. It will be a grass track racer to challenge friends in the park. I could build fine bikes but others are doing amazing things already, and the painting is too good. From my perspective, each frame is its own object to be independently layered in designs, colours and ideas. Painting offers a huge amount of freedom and creativity though it has taken time to get to the point of becoming remotely comfortable. Painting bikes is the hardest thing I have ever done. There are infinitely more ways to screw it up than to get it right. As I become more comfortable I am also learning to blend my art background with painting and I think this opens doors. There are more options, concepts and collaborations and it just gets better. I have no idea where Velocolour or I am headed though I am where I expect to be. I am still just a kid and this has all been pretty easy for me. I am lucky in that I have had more support than many and more mentors too. Instead of working for Mike Barry, we now share a space. As kids young Michael and I used to have sleepovers. In the morning we would run into Clare and Mike’s room for tea and cookies. Now, Mike and I take turns making tea in the shop. I still learn from him everyday and hopefully once in a while he learns from me too. It is a great time to be a maker in the custom or boutique bike field. Frames, paint, accessories, you name it. They are all doing well and showing people how great bicycles can be. The big shows have changed the scene and the Internet has connected all of us to each other and our customers. Of course I have not be in this long enough to know any different. What I do know is socially, economically, environmentally and therefore politically, bikes are it and the circumstances seem to be right.

Thanks for reading.
noah

WELCOME TO VELOCOLOUR