Design: Repeat Press

A collaborative effort between minds at Open Bicycle, and Fringe resulted in the 2010 release of the Rotafixer. To summarize, this is a universal lockring tool for fixed gear bicycles that uses the leverage of the wheel for more torque than a hand tool could provide.

Packaging for the Rotafixer consists of a custom converted vellum envelope, with a die-cut chipboard insert to hold the tool. The front of the envelope is left unprinted to reveal the laser-etched surface of the tool, while the back has an impression in white displaying the Union Foundry logo, tool name, and release edition.

For the initial release of the tool, Union Foundry sent out VIP mailers to close friends and influential names in the cycling community. The VIP mailer was sent in a standard 6×9 manila envelope, but the contents were carefully designed and constructed for an elegant presentation upon opening. To ensure the proper presentation, a folded sheet of chipboard was used to pull the contents out of the envelope together. This sheet had rounded corners to mimic the packaging insert, and a heavy impression of the Union Foundry logo printed with transparent white. The use of transparent white can provide a nice alternative to a blind impression as it will give a subtle change to the color and finish of the printed area,.

Along with the tool, VIPs received a swatch of Penfield flannel to protect the bike frame during use of the tool, and a typewritten note on custom Union Foundry letterhead. The letterhead was printed in simple black ink on Neenah’s 80lb Classic Crest in Classic Natural White.

In what will undoubtedly go down as a career highlight of mine, Bike Snob NYC penned a thousand word essay on why this product sucked, including the phrase "hipster Ron Popeils" and a half a paragraph making fun of UF for including a design credit on their site.

Production specs:

folded card - 1/1 letterpress on chipboard, transparent white

vellum envelope - 1/0 letterpress, opaque white

letterhead - 1/0 letterpress on 80lb Neenah Classic Crest, black

(photos courtesy Union Foundry)