Nice surprise when I arrived home from work the other day, finding a new Rivendell catalog in the mail. If you've been around the bicycle culture block a few times, you probably already heard of Grant Petersen. From the Bridgestone heyday of the '90s, then started Rivendell when Bridgestone exited the US market. If you're not familiar with the story, a few Google searches will get you up to speed.
I was a big Bridgestone fan during the '90s, complete with a few models hanging in the garage. Part of that due to Grant's no nonsense marketing and catalogs - which are now collector items. I continued my interest with Rivendell - even though the bikes themselves are not fully my gig - still enjoy reading Grant's take on things.
The Rivendell catalogs are written in a homy, fun style; no hype involved and great job pointing out details of products carried. Very different from the usual bicycle marketing picture, that focuses on high tech and racing oriented philosophy. The best marketing occurs when it simply reflects what the person and/or company stands for. Rivendell is one of those companies and that's rare today.
In this day and age of why even bother printing a paper catalog, just post online - refreshing reminder - of how cool to find this in your mailbox. And not a virtual mailbox.
This is the type of catalog I wind up saving and flipping through numerous times. Rare indeed.
Thanks Rivendell...
No comments:
Post a Comment