DETAILS
Free, no booking required
Loop Cycles
16 Victoria Street, Brunswick East VIC, Australia
DATES
Sun 24 May 1 – 4pm
This event presents a panel discussion and product launch for the next generation of the Foldee cargo bike. Designed and manufactured in a Brunswick workshop, Foldee represents an investigation into what is possible in design and manufacture in Australia in 2026, and how the capacity of Melbourne/Naarm-based designer–fabricators relates to a broader global ecosystem.
The Foldee cargo bike was the winner of the Powerhouse Museum’s 2025 Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator.
The panel discussion will track the product’s evolution through physical prototypes and manufacturing techniques. The workshop will also be open to visitors, offering insight into in-house tooling and processes and the iterative design and fabrication methods behind the project, including laser cutting, folding and 3D printing of ‘impossible’ geometries.
Participants
Olson Hamilton-Smith
Olson Hamilton-Smith is of Taiwanese heritage and was raised in the Northern Territory. His education comprises engineering (fabrication) at trade school and Industrial Design at RMIT and ELISAVA in Barcelona. This, coupled with industry practice as a metal fabricator in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, as well as work on large public art sculptures — including components of James Turrell’s Roden Crater project — has shaped his understanding of design, manufacturing and how people relate to the built environment.Olson now runs Loop Cycles, a neighbourhood bike shop in Brunswick East. The shop completes repair work, offers training workshops and organises community events, and is known for its design and metal fabrication capacity, having recently won the Powerhouse Museum’s Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator.