David White comments "...wanting to be accurate to his vision...is a sign of respect...."
I couldn't agree more...if I had an early Colin Laing frame set that needed paint, I would be keen to restore it to its original graphics. But, as you may have surmised from this and previous posts about his work, this is a man who is not easily swayed.
Pat Moffat Tempe, AZ
-----Original Message----- From: "David G. White" <whiteknight@adelphia.net> Sent: Sep 17, 2004 7:45 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Colin Laing
This is interesting to me. I've exchanged several emails with Colin in the past couple weeks. Among other things we've discussed me having reproductions made of the mid-70s vintage decals on my Laing frame. He declined the idea of having any extras made so that he could offer them to others who, like me, might want to restore their frames with historically accurate decals. But he seemed, at least as far as one can tell through email, to have no problem about me sending any repros I have made to him to be applied by his painter.
I hope I have not inadvertently offended him. As far as I'm concerned, wanting to be accurate to his vision at the time he originally made my frame is a sign of respect, but based on your comments, perhaps he does not see it that way.
For anyone who is interested, I have made arrangements to have the decal set reproduced inexpensively -- the final cost is not quite clear, but it will be less than $40 per set!
Regards,
David
David G. White Burlington, VT
rocketman531 wrote:
>I chatted with Colin this afternoon, and a couple of things came up that might be of interest to the list. In a posting I made a few weeks ago, I mentioned that Colin's son, Ian, was a frame builder, and that his bikes were badged as "Colian". It turns out that Ian never built frames. He worked in his father's shop in Tempe for a time, but he did prep work and file work. The "Colian" marque was simply a nod to that somewhat short partnership between father and son.
>
>As to the matter of decals for Colin's early bikes, Colin's position is that he built a certain batch of bikes with a specific style of decal, and when he finished building that batch, however large or small the batch was, that those decals died with the batch. The next batch (Colin's term) got a new decal. He has no interest in resurrecting old decal sets. He is very firm on this matter. Those early bikes have their own place in the world, and that's the way he wants it. Colin made these bikes. He designed the decals. The whole deal belongs to Colin. Could someone replicate the decals? Probably. Of all the bikes that Colin ever made, I think he sold or gave away just about every one of them. They don't belong to him anymore.....or do they?
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>Pat Moffat
>Tempe, AZ, Where I don't even know how to be Politically Correct..but I know a whole lot about being Culturally Correct.