To start let me say right off the bat that my only connection to the bicycle industry is through my wallet.
That said I sit here and wonder what is the difference between say a Bruce Gordon and a Richard Sachs? For the sake of arguement (and reality) framebuilding skills should be taken out of the equation as both are artisans (ableit in different mediums). e-RICHIE© is all over the place, he is in magazines (and not just cycling magazines), he is on websites (i.e. campy only), he is participating on various internet forums. Other than his own web site, I really can't recall seeing Bruce's work advertized, written up, reviewed in quite a while. Marketing. Richard has something like a 4 or 5 year waiting list, yet people still pony up even though there are other just as skilled and gifted framebuilders starving for work. I really think that the small builder has to promote themselves in order to survive, it's this exposure in the media other than the framebuilders list or here that get the names out there. Just out of curiousity I'd ask how much increase in contact did Brian receive after Bicycling© wrote that small piece on his operation? And that leads me to my final point. Back in the 70's and 80's I would read these wonderful articles about custom builders in magazines like Bicycling© (Before it became an MTV soundbite) and Bicycle Guide and I wanted those bikes. I knew who was building custom frames, whether they were race geometry or full blown tourers. We just don't have those magazines anymore, and with the exception of Cycling Plus one hardly sees any write ups on touring bikes, its all go fast carbon fibre (at least as far as the magazines available both commercially and locally). The CR lister who reads VBQ and Rivendell Reader already knows, or has a pretty good idea about, the small artisan builders, it's the general cycling public who needs the education.
Marty Eison
Frisco, Texas