/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61200631/racked_placeholder.4.0.1421618805.0.jpg)
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Last week we found out that Chrome Industries, leading maker of biker bags, shoes, and urban cycling apparel is opening its doors on Milwaukee Avenue, the mega artery in the heart of Wicker Park. This Week we're bringing you the nuts and bolts of the storefront's build-out.
This Chrome store, similarly to the New York location will have a floor-to-ceiling moving dry cleaner's conveyor system that will carry all back-stock of bags in different styles. The store will have "try-tables" that are made of up-cycled wood planks from a junkyard in San Francisco that have been sanded down and stand at a high-waisted level. Below the tables there are sandbags and weights of varying shapes which you can place inside of the bags and feel how the bag carries the weight. The tables sit atop industrial steel bases salvaged from a recycle center in Berkeley. Next to the tables, you'll be able to ride stationary bikes while you're wearing a weighted bag. The cash wrap is made of the same San Franciscan lumber and has an inset Chrome logo.
On the far back wall, they're installing the biggest map possible which we have yet to see but the wall is insanely big so we can't wait to see it. The map will act as a recommendation station where people can tack their favorite biking spots or food spots or whatever for other people to find.
Inside the store, Chrome has industrial sewing machines where they'll feature the "Made Here" custom program for bags or alterations on items you've just purchased. The customer will be able to customize the fabric, color of the bag and personalize patchwork. In the same thread, we'd like to point out Chrome's Salvage Series that are made from saved tent canvas, blankets, and airplane tarps.
· Chrome [Official Site]