While freelance design certainly offers the opportunity to switch between media and content pretty fluidly, I still seem to desire the side projects that are personal interest in nature and keep me trying new subject matter and techniques. Whether it’s an illustration project for my nephew or a partnership with a friend to try and bring in some different clientele (legacyworks.us), or even managing a bike shop on the side (sixtyfive12.com),  I really enjoy the break from my typical 9-5 clients to keep things interesting.

Sixty-five.12:

The bike shop came into being in a funny way. While working with a company called ProfitStreams, I was talking to the head of Marketing one day about her hook-up with Orbea bikes. Kricket had been a pro racer for Orbea at one time and knew a lot of the management still with the company. While working as a coach in a local youth development program, she had been using her connections at Orbea to offer the kids in her program special pricing on their bikes. So I asked her why not just open up a small Orbea bike boutique. She thought it was a great idea and so Sixty.five-12 was born.

When I started doing freelance work full time, Kricket decided to start leasing some office space which I would manage. It was a great situation because she had someone in the office and I was able to sit in the space and manage the shop while also doing freelance design work. Not only was the work environment great, but I was able to talk bikes all the time. I’m not necessarily a salesman, but I do love Orbea bikes and hopefully that rubs off on the people that come in to talk to me about a new bike.

I personally have an Orbea Rallon in my quiver, and I absolutely love the bike. It has become my slightly more aggressive, do it all, full suspension rig. Just a ton of fun. I’ve also had the opportunity to rally the Alma. Also a ton of fun in a hard tail 29er package.

Just another example of never knowing what options are open to you when you’re doing freelance design work. The ability to take your work anywhere and, in my case, work wherever I have a laptop and an internet signal opens up a lot of options. At this point it would take a really good company to hire me full time to think about getting out of my current work.

So if you’re looking for a new bike and like the way an Orbea looks, come in to Sixty-five.12 (the elevation of Durango) and maybe I can give a friend of my blog a little hook-up 🙂