I went in to see Chris at Edisons a few weeks back - he had that quiet confidence in his own work that is completely contagious and makes you want to order about a hundred bikes just for the pleasure of watching him build them.
There is a slowly building store of money in the Bank of Goldie for a traditionally built steel frame from a Yorksire or North Derbyshire builder. When I mentioned what I was after to Chris he quickly sketched out a bike using some NOS Carlton Capella lugs and 531 which I have no doubt would be an absolute stunner.
I can see that this hand built bike will cost a fair bit of money, but I think it's so worth it for so many reasons - the individuality and longevity of the finished product, the chance to tailor it to my needs, the opportunity to play a part in creating what is pretty much a piece of art as well as a bit of graceful engineering.
I stumbled across Feather a few months back - there's some lovely looking stuff being built there. Is Ricky based in West Yorks somewhere, or am I making that up?