"This profession is undervalued and professionals attempting to earn a living wage have to compete with those willing to "learn" their way in, who charge less due to the starving artist sacrifice syndrome." - Rody


I made chocolate chip cookies last night, but this does not make me a baker. I even baked once for a bake sale at my daughters school where my cookies were sold for $$$, but this still does not make me a baker.

Rody's comment about "...those willing to "learn" their way in, who charge less..." reminds me much of my industry. I am a candy maker. The specialty side of our industry has suffered by what I call the "Food Network Effect", where the food industry has been glamorized to the point that people have taken to their home kitchens to produce candies at below market value in order to buy their piece of market share. When their demand grows to be greater than the capacity of their home kitchen, they are some how shocked by the fact that they cannot afford to buy equipment and pay rent for a commercial space, simply due to the fact that these costs were never calculated into their business model and therefore the reason they could sell their product so cheap.

For now I am just a guy who like to build frame(s) [still working on #1]. Like many, yes, I have the fantasy of being a frame builder. For now however, I have two kids for whom I need to save for college and someday I would like to retire. That being said, frame building will be my hobby. ~~~Fantasy~~~ Perhaps someday I will have built enough, learned enough, and loaned out my bikes enough to the point that someone asks me to build one for them. ~~~Back to reality~~~ Aside from a friends & family discount, I cannot see how one would not charge the full market rate for a frame to compensate for the skill, time and materials that go into making a frame.

This forum is amazing! My sincere thanks, to all those who post, professionals and hobbyists, from whom I have been able to learn. Once I get through the next few steps on my project and have a few more pictures, I will start contributing as well.

Mike Gordon
Highland Park, IL