Canuk
Old School Grand Master
To quote Kermisking
'I think frame building is too romanticised . Ellis Briggs's proprietor a one man band bit off more than he could chew . To offer frame building courses , build frames , do you tube and run a shop front store you are making a rod for your own back'.
This is exactly the lot of any artisan in the 21st Century. My son is self employed in a similar niche product making business. Without offering courses, literature, online and offline content he'd be finished financially.
To make it at all profitable, you need to be across several different platforms simultaneously, updating content on a daily basis, and have multiple income streams and leverage any skill sharing or knowledge you have to the max.
He works 12 hours a day, six days a week. In tough times it's non stop, no breaks. For sure, making content for YouTube/Instagram etc is time consuming, but it's absolutely essential today if you want to attract business/run courses/seminars etc. The 'cash grab' statement up thread made me chuckle.
Any one man operation is going to struggle in hard times or when illness comes along. I think a lot of the criticism is from people who have no idea the pressures and all consuming fire of running a small business day in day out. I would imagine Paul is not making a great living out of the frame building business. But clearly he's very passionate about it, and keen to share his knowledge.
I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Les Rigden, a truly superlative frame builder and steel artist. But his waiting lists were years long, and his list of excuses were legendary. However, the wait for the finished frame was always worth it. He made everyone else look efficient!
When thinking about ordering a frame from a bespoke builder, think about the hundreds of hours (and decades of experience) that come before you get your sweaty mitts on a thing of beauty. You're not buying a Specialized or a Trek, laid up in moulds by 50 women in a Taiwanese sweat shop, painted in a carousel with half a dozen other manufacturers at the same time.
Some things are worth the wait, and the headaches. These are almost certainly the end times for steel bike frame production in the UK. I can't see a single builder surviving the end of the decade in any meaningful way. Most folk will probably be reduced to repairs and repainting, as cheap, good quality steel products from China and Taiwan take most of the market.
Enjoy them while you can.
'I think frame building is too romanticised . Ellis Briggs's proprietor a one man band bit off more than he could chew . To offer frame building courses , build frames , do you tube and run a shop front store you are making a rod for your own back'.
This is exactly the lot of any artisan in the 21st Century. My son is self employed in a similar niche product making business. Without offering courses, literature, online and offline content he'd be finished financially.
To make it at all profitable, you need to be across several different platforms simultaneously, updating content on a daily basis, and have multiple income streams and leverage any skill sharing or knowledge you have to the max.
He works 12 hours a day, six days a week. In tough times it's non stop, no breaks. For sure, making content for YouTube/Instagram etc is time consuming, but it's absolutely essential today if you want to attract business/run courses/seminars etc. The 'cash grab' statement up thread made me chuckle.
Any one man operation is going to struggle in hard times or when illness comes along. I think a lot of the criticism is from people who have no idea the pressures and all consuming fire of running a small business day in day out. I would imagine Paul is not making a great living out of the frame building business. But clearly he's very passionate about it, and keen to share his knowledge.
I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Les Rigden, a truly superlative frame builder and steel artist. But his waiting lists were years long, and his list of excuses were legendary. However, the wait for the finished frame was always worth it. He made everyone else look efficient!
When thinking about ordering a frame from a bespoke builder, think about the hundreds of hours (and decades of experience) that come before you get your sweaty mitts on a thing of beauty. You're not buying a Specialized or a Trek, laid up in moulds by 50 women in a Taiwanese sweat shop, painted in a carousel with half a dozen other manufacturers at the same time.
Some things are worth the wait, and the headaches. These are almost certainly the end times for steel bike frame production in the UK. I can't see a single builder surviving the end of the decade in any meaningful way. Most folk will probably be reduced to repairs and repainting, as cheap, good quality steel products from China and Taiwan take most of the market.
Enjoy them while you can.
