Squid Bikes started as a band of cyclocross miscreants spray painting bikes in a garage and evolved into a cult-classic brand known for creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind bikes for a growing community of bike lovers. Their art is fun, bright, beautiful, and bold and we’ve been proud to partner with them and showcase their designs on kits for years. Fresh for 2021, Squid is back with a splashy new set of separates featuring gorgeous gradients, dramatic drips, and high-viz hues designed to help you stand out. Today Emily Kachorek, co-founder of Squid Bikes, drops by the Eliel Blog to share the secret behind the creation of the iconic Squid Drip art.
By: Emily Kachorek, Squid Bikes
Everyone always asks how we do it - how we create the organic loose shapes on our Drip bikes. The answer is dish soap. The dish soap acts like a liquid mask, blocking the spray paint from adhering to the frame. We started painting bikes using this method a number of years ago and it has been a customer favorite since then.
We create our collection art based on designs we use on our bikes and things we want to wear ourselves. All of the Squid Separates Collection are designed to mix and match with multiple items in the current and past collections. Our oftentimes colorful and patterned bibs pair well with our t-shirt inspired jerseys.
