Made In England - Celebrating Britain's artisan producers

Ask most people what they think the bike market is like for producers in the UK and they will most probably say that nobody builds bikes here any more and it's all done in the Far East. However, anyone who has been to Bespoked Bristol or follow the likes of Ricky Feather and Tom Donhou on Instagram will know that the British bike building businesses is thriving, you just need to know where to look. The authors of Made In England, one of them being Ricky Feather himself, wanted to celebrate this fact and show off some of the amazing work which is going on in workshops, sheds and shipping containers up and down the country.

The photography is provided by Kayti Peschke and gives a wonderful insight into the working lives of the builders. Accompanied with frank, informative and humorous interviews with the frame makers the book is a fantastic tome highlighting the great and good in the bicycle business.

Now available through their website I think it would be a great Christmas present for any cycling fans who love the craft which goes into building these machines. Also, it works as a fantastic catalogue if you are looking for a builder to create your dream bike. Just need to save up for a few years!

The Handmade Cyclist

It seems there is definitely a large number of talented people out there combining their love of cycling with top notch designs and illustrations. With festivals like Artcrank becoming bigger and bigger as well as a number of tumblr sites dedicated to cycling artworks, there clearly is a market out there. 

The Handmade Cyclist, also known as Neil, is one of these talented artists. With a style aimed towards the pro racing, peleton following cyclist, he creates some lovely bold prints. All the posters are giclee printed using archival inks onto fantastic 300gsm gallery-grade paper and will last a lifetime. Seeing as prices start at just £19, it's a pretty good chance to get some lovely graphic print up on your walls. 

I particularly like the geometric designs celebrating some of cycling's biggest classics, like La Doyenne and IL Lombardia. However, if you fancy getting your name put up there alongside some of the greats, several of his works can be personalised. You could even claim to be the 22nd Champion of l'Alpe d'Heuz. 

All the work is available through his Etsy store and could make a nice little Christmas present for the art loving cyclist in your life, especially the witty 'I love you more' print. Definitely better than a pair of socks with some bikes on. 

Blog: thehandmadecyclist.tumblr.com
Twitter: @handmadecyclist

My view of Bespoked Bristol 2012

Slate Cycles

Long overdue but these are a few of my pictures from Bespoked Bristol 2012 event. It was a great show and it was nice to see a hall full of people admiring some of the finest bikes in the country. Including the frame above built by Christy Boothroyd of Slate cycles which is only his second complete build, showing great skills already.

Slate Cycles

Rapha + Feather

Rapha + Mather Cycles

Donhou

Donhou

il Soigneur

Schwalbe

Shand Cycles

Brother Cycles

Show winner by Robin Mather

Rapha's beautiful new Grand Tour shoes

Creux Clothing

Feather

Racer Rosa Cycles