Age of Diversity

So the economy is officially on it’s arse still, the worst recession in 50 years according to those that know these things.  I am listening to one guy on the radio now as I write this blaming the weather, probably one of the same pasty faced quilts in red braces that was telling us that it was all our fault in the first place, for putting the cost of our caravan weekend in Rhyl on our credit card. Other experts offered a more plausible view that a sharp downturn in the construction and manufacturing sectors was to blame. Now I imagine for most people reading this that may not be the news they wanted to hear. The vat increase, very little in the way of grants available and the increasing difficulty in raising finance have all contributed to a difficult period for most small manufacturers, it’s no wonder most are struggling. There maybe however some hope.

One area of manufacturing that is growing is the hand made bicycle industry. Now I am not talking about the type we used to chop up and stick a pair of cowhorn handle bars on like when we were kids. These are mostly bespoke creations built to the customers spec. The customer gets to choose the height of the frame the material it’s made from and all the extras like wheels and gearing etc.  Now as you’d expect all this doesn’t come cheap, prices start from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands. Now why in this day and age when most people haven’t got a pot to piss in would anyone want to spend that much money on a bike when they can go to Halfords and pick up a grifter for a couple of ton. Maybe because production line restrictions aren’t exactly what they want. And there are still plenty of people who have got pots to piss in, probably lots of pots cast in 24 carat gold and big enough to empty a bladder of Dom Perignon in, who know exactly what they want and don’t care how much it  costs to get it.

Now unless you’re a bike builder you might not think this is that relevent, but hear me out. For Halfords read Wickes or B&Q. Most have us have heard someone say that so and so only costs such and such in the garden centre when enquiring about a job, I bet it does, it’s most likely not a patch on what you make your self. What I’m saying is you know the value of your own work. If you are getting a lot of customers asking to make them something they have seen imported from the far east at a fraction of the cost you can even get the materials for, then you are appealing to the wrong market. Attention to detail and craftsmanship over high volume productivity should be your main focus. Make sure people know they are getting a prestige product, bespoke and unique to them. If people want something enough they will pay well for it.

By the way I Just noticed todays other big news story £13 trillion hidden from tax man by global elite in offshore  accounts,  still we keep heating and beating eh.

That there London

At this busy time of year for most of us, the bank holiday weekend almost passed by un noticed for yours truly. Funny how a little bit of good weather for a couple of days has people realising that they need a new set of gates or a little bit of welding work doing, and then there’s all those Olympic torch replicas I’ve been making to flog on ebay. Anyway this morning on BBC breakfast I  caught a bit of the jubilee pageant footage from yesterday, inevitable I suppose. For the most part it was plenty of stiff upper lips smiling for the cameras while the rain lashed down, and if Wimbledon is anything to go by the last thing you need when Cliff is around is rain.  It was impossible not to hark back to our street party for the silver jubilee we had when I was just 11 years old in back 1977 and the first time I had a proper beer. Watneys pale ale provided by my mates older  brother to the sound of Showaddywaddy, pretty horrible on both accounts,but what memories are made of.

However being the ironhead that I am the thing I noticed most was the magnificent London metalwork, something that is quite unique. As someone who lived in Glasgow for a couple of years it reminded me of a stark contrast between the regions when it comes to the traditional construction of fabricated metalwork. Not just north and south but all accross the uk in my experience. For our street party we had our 1950s built council commisioned hoop top railings covered in bunting, that was just what happened in post war Britain, but most big cities had metalwork that had its own individual character way before then.    Now I know that in this age of austerity (thanks Dave) councils are never going to have the budget to afford railings to rival the original, but I think there is room for imagination as far as those of us who make a living  making them are concerned.

We are all familair with the customer who wants a set of driveway gates who says “You know, a curved top with gold spears on and those twisted bits on the bar” and then they just leave you to do it. And of course you do it, you have done that many of them you can do them in your sleep and at the end of the day it’s another £500 – 600 in your bank account. We call them ‘Starbucks’ gates,  every town and every city has them, the off the shelf yeoman design that you see everywhere. It doesn’t have to be like that though, ask your customers to look around them, talk about aesthetics, explain that traditionally finials never had gold on them. Classic designs are often quite simple, ok maybe the railheads will cost a few pence more each but all the major stockholders keep the components in stock these days, and think of the time you will save not having to paint them that awful gold.