How One Jeweler Became a UK Frame-Building Sensation
How did you go from making art and jewelry to building bikes?
I became more dissatisfied with the art world and at the same time was becoming a keener cyclist. Then I had a bit of a brain wave: "Hold on, bikes are made of metal. And metal's the thing I love." Although my [artistic] work was often about use and relationships people had with objects, the things I made were never really used. So it's nice to now make something that people can actually build a relationship with.
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Tell me about the first bike you built for yourself.
It's the first one that really fits me properly. It feels responsive and kind of nippy because it's got such a short wheelbase. I went to France this year and challenged myself to ride three ascents of Mont Ventoux in one day. I was terrified about descending. But it is so much better having a bike you're confident in. I actually enjoyed the descents, which surprised me!
What is your favorite part of frame building?
The brazing. We call it soldering in jewelry, but it's all the same process. I've always loved it because it's kind of magic, isn't it, when you are joining two pieces of metal?
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What tools in your shop do you treasure the most?
The files I used as a jeweler. I've had them for a long time, and with silver you don't wear them out in the same way. And then my jeweler's piercing saw, which I use for cutting out the lugs and for cutting the silver details and head badges.
If you could build a bike for anyone, who would it be?
I think Beryl Burton, a British rider. She had health issues and her husband said, "Maybe you should ride a bike." So she rode a bike, then started riding with the men's cycle club. Within about three years she was killing it and leading them out all the time. She was the British time trial champion for 25 consecutive years [from 1959 to 1983]. She was doing it in a time when the doctor would tell her, "Don't overexert yourself. Your weak female body might not be able to take this extended exercise."
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Is there a moment in frame building that you're most proud of?
I suppose the big send-up project that I've done so far is the Porkeur. The person I was making the bike for [photographer Camille McMillan] is from a fine-arts background too. Our ideas totally worked together—I could do anything and he'd love it. It was stressful because I felt like I was designing something and learning how to do it at the same time. I got it finished, by the skin of my teeth, for Bespoked, the UK Handmade Bicycle Show. And then I won a prize for it.
Yay! What's next?
I've been asked to be in London's Design Museum's next show, Cycle Revolution. I want to keep the frame and parts as British as possible because the exhibition's cornerstone is about the cycling revolution that's happened in this country. Ten years ago my friends thought I was weird for riding a bike. And now it's like, "Well of course you ride a bike. How else would you get around?"
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