Kevin Gosney wrote:
> I have spent a few miles thinking about how framebuilders concentrated in
geographic regions. For example in the Pac NW alone at one time or another
you had Jim Merz, Bruce Gordon, Stevenson, Davidson, Erickson (My Three
'sons?), Tim Paterek, Di Nucci, Strawberry, Rodriquez, Klein, Land Shark,
Luna, Calvert Express, Co-Motion, Vanilla, Casmano and Iglehart____ add your
favorites here.....
>
> South of the Siskyou summit you found Eisentraut, Baylis, Ritchey, Della
Santa, Simonetti, Mikkleson, Peter Johnson, Mike Howard, Holland, Kirkbride,
Tesch, Tsunami, Felt....add more here.
>
> I am less familar with the "East Coast School" of builders, but wonder
what is in the water of East Haddam, Connecticut the would support a Richard
Sachs and a Peter Weigle in the same area code?
If you think that the grouping of American frame builders is amazing, do you know how far you have to travel from Campagnolo's factory door in Vicenza to visit Selle Italia, Selle Royal (who has just bought out Brooks), Iscaselle, Fizik, the production site of Avocet, Bassano Selle and all the other big guns of saddle making? Less than 50 miles! If my calculations are not wrong they are all found within a 5 mile radius of the centremost located factory! This is mostly due to the fact that often an employee leaves the 'mother company' to then set up their own company; or at very least somebody is so favorably impressed by the business set up by an 'original' that they feel that they would like to do the same themselves.
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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