INDIANAPOLIS, IN (BRAIN)—The North American Handmade Bicycle Show is extending the registration deadline for exhibitors, and will break from tradition for the 2011 show by running a pilot program that allows bicycle designers to exhibit.
The deadline for open registration for exhibitors is extended from November 1 to today, according to a press release. The reason, Don Walker said, the show's founder and director, "We have had a flood of applications, and need time to process the paperwork, so we thought we'd keep open registration going until we've gotten through the administrative load."
In the move to allow bicycle designers as well as builders, up to five designers will be admitted in the pilot program, and in order to admit these new exhibitors an additional category, Bicycle Designer, will be added to the show for 2011. All of the designers in the pilot scheme will have to conform to the following criteria:
-A designer may display one brand in their booth.
-This brand must be made by a current NAHBS exhibitor.
-The designer must carry product liability insurance.
Don Walker said, "Designers that are using custom framebuilders are employing handmade industry labor and therefore bringing in additional revenue. All boats float on a rising tide. This is strictly a pilot program, it might or might not work so we're testing it to see whether or not it is feasible."
The reason bicycle designers have not previously been permitted into the show was the difficulty of ensuring the handmade integrity of the bicycles they design. But by requiring these designers to show only bicycles that are built by current-year NAHBS exhibitors this potential problem is avoided.
