Re: [CR]Re: Real Masi vs the American Forgeries

(Example: Framebuilding:Paint)

To: chuckschmidt@earthlink.net
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 16:03:29 -0400
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Real Masi vs the American Forgeries
From: "Richard M Sachs" <richardsachs@juno.com>


okay, wiseguy... let me tell you what i've stated to others today, and at other times, regarding this 'owner/operator' issue, (for lack of a better term.). what i have written about this and related subjects is based on my personal experience as a frame maker, a racer, a oft-time visitor to most of the italian frame shops cited, and as a person who likes to think his antennae is working properly. i think there's a lot of myth an mystique in this business and much of it comes from lore, marketing hype, ignorance, innuendo, and also from bits of each of these when thrown into a stew. when i chime in to the list, i try pretty hard to keep it from being a 'shop at e-RICHIE's bike o'rama' kind of thing. i'm opining based on my first hand knowledge, not speculating, but i try not to personalize it. but here comes the exception: yeah-i work alone. what i do here exists outside the lines of the typical industry model. other people have made their career choices based on the economy of scale relating to the environment or personal situation in which they exist. since i never chose to be someone's boss, i remain alone. period. that doesn't mean one man shops are better than production shops, or vice versa. and for me to choose to remain a one man shop and, at the same time, have first hand experiences that enable me to form opinions about production shops, does not constitute an indictment of situations in which a brand name is slapped on the wares made by a staff member or under license. it all works. there's a market for what i do. and there's a market for copycat/reproduction/licensed stuff. my only beef is that people expect that, FOR INSTANCE, if faliero masi's name is on the bicycle, that somehow, it's <wrong> if it was made by someone else. the issue of quality, or collectibilty, or desireability-that's a dfferent subject. i gotta go to work... e-RICHIE . On Mon, 08 Apr 2002 11:17:42 -0800 Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> writes:
> Richard Sachs wrote:
> >
> > mr. minolta didn't make my camera.
> > mr. westinghouse doesn't make the oven. no one named
> > 'levi' made the jeans i buy...
> > why is it so important with this bicycle stuff. alas, in a
> > 4 star restaurant, the chef is the celebrity. does he cook
> > the meal? no f@^! way!
>
>
> You mean to tell me e-Ritchie, that Richard Sachs didn't make "my"
> RICHARDSACHS ??? That he employs "helpers in the kitchen?" Say it
> ain't so!
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> SoPas, SoCal