What a year that was; a heartfelt thank you to all our customers, suppliers and team in 2021
2022 saw us completely refurb the workshop to handle the upturn in orders, and better manage workflow. We painted every wall ourselves, got steel in, built benches and hung hooks to hold incoming parts for each customer.
We can’t talk about what has been a pretty unusual year without starting with our lovely reality and that is that we make toys. We take them very seriously of course but they are at the end of the day (for us and most of our customers) very specialist, high end toys. We love what we do and we’re doing it in a context where demand has never been greater.
So, before I talk about and share the trouble’s and triumphs we’ve seen this year I want to take a moment for the huge numbers of businesses and people for whom reality doesn’t or can’t look like that. Who didn’t make it or have endured real struggle and pain this year and wish them and their families better fortunes, and good health as we look to 2022.
In that context, we as a little team doing something we love have so much to be thankful for.
We went back to The Bespoked Show in Harrogate. Launching two new bikes, and showing off customer work. Grateful to be back together with friends and customers.
Not least because we started this year off the back of the busiest year we’ve ever had. But, as January arrived there was no time for resting on our laurels and there was work to be done to fulfil all those orders. The reality of that luxurious position - having sacrificed much and worked extremely hard for so long to get us there - was a big shock.
Covid, Brexit, parts supply issues; you name it, it challenged us this year.
DAM London helped us understand and utilise the benefits of 3d printing and for the first time this year, we used recycled composites in our Vars Disc Road bike.
With a small team and not much contingency handling the extra load was tough. We found ourselves fighting for every shipment, part and spare minute to keep projects on track, find out where stock was at, keep in touch with our customers and keep our side of the bargain to deliver the bikes we’d promised.
Our steel and carbon suppliers felt the strain too, as did our fabricators, even our paint supplier, all of them staying open for every moment they could with massive restrictions on their work. All of us - all small teams and family businesses - hoping that one of us didn’t go down with the Virus. Anxiously adhering to the rules, whilst keeping the doors open.
But, like so many other people did, we all pulled together and despite the setbacks, we have managed to keep the doors open and get work done. At one point whilst running hard to catch up over summer, we shipped 19 frames in one shipment. A risky move, but necessary to keep things rolling.
Despite the forms, the heavy ‘express’ fees and the courier’s best effort though, the worst did happen.
Big shipments are risky, but we hustled to catch up from lockdowns. We had to weld up new racking in-house to manage the load.
The biggest shipment we’d ever had went missing at customs for three weeks whilst our government worked out what they were and who owed what. Three of us found ourselves on the phone, multiple times, every day to the various people we’d had contact with; no one being able to give us reliable information.
The frames then eventually arrived unannounced in an unmarked van, driven by a guy in no uniform who demanded a £1200 cheque to release the load. We had to pay it or risk losing them again, and I’m still not 100% sure who that payment went to.
We have a regular afternoon ride booked in the last Friday of every month. We only got out together twice this year, but the rides were all the more special for it. Left to right; Luke, David, Jen, our photographer Simon Eldon and Sam Weeks.
Getting our heads around the new arrangements felt like we were operating in the Wild West for a while. Which has thankfully settled down. And for customers (who just want accurate information in that context) it must have been extremely difficult, so big thanks to them for bearing with us.
The frames did arrive though, perfect as usual. Late, but just in time for Dan Hardy’s arrival. Our first professional Project Manager. His arrival was the turning point for us this year.
Lockdown curtailed our shoot opportunities a bit, but we managed to pull off some memorable shoots. This one was with Morgan’s Izoard RR, shot in a Force 9 gale. The weather was so bad, they closed Brighton Pier to the public on the day they gave us access to shoot his bike.
Hiring a generalist was really nerve-racking but it worked. He took a kinda tidy, reasonably well run but stretched workshop, and organised it to deliver a proper customer experience for the now larger number of customers. We now have complete visibility over every project, in every detail. It’s not perfect yet and in some respects we’re still playing catch up or waiting for a few stubborn parts, but with a robust system for delivering builds in place, we’re communicating better meeting milestones and getting through the work efficiently.
In ordinary circumstances we spend as much time testing in and around Montgenevre as possible. We only managed a few days in between lockdowns in 2021. Ben with our friend George and I stopped on the road in Cervieres.
Dan showed us what doing it right can look like and the foundations he’s laid have given us everything we need to deliver more for customer’s next year. It’s exciting to be in that position, and we’re grateful for our customer’s patience and support whilst we got those systems up to scratch.
Parts supply issues have been widely publicised across the cycling industry too. Although they haven’t gone away entirely. But the big surprise as we began to feel the worst of it was the way it burned time during the day. Calling around, tracking stuff down, or just chasing stuff that should have already turned up.
Petor from the Radavist visited the workshop, and we rode out together round London to catch up and discuss our approach to designing bikes and our plans for the business.
But, we chased down most of the parts we needed and we’re proud we’ve been able to spend margin where we had to, to source parts we needed wherever we can find them without passing on costs to customers.
We’ve left no stone unturned to make up complete group sets and finish builds and in not one company or corner have we found people who aren’t willing to help. I’m grateful for that and reminded of how much harder it could have been if people hadn’t pulled for us in that way.
We finally got an Academy Tools jig set up in the workshop. For the first time giving us an opportunity to describe that part of the process to our customers on site.
We nearly got through the year without Covid in the workshop too. But December came and the Virus took Sam out, then me, playing havoc with our December plans, but we adjusted it, and and did what we could and the sheer volume of paint Sam has produced (all year, not just December), at ever higher standards is mind-blowing.
There’s a bit of catch up still to do of course but it feels more manageable and by end of January resources match work load again and I’m grateful to everyone in our team for pulling the extra hours to get us there. And for our steadfast customers, who’ve stuck with us through all of it.
Complex parts orders came in mostly in time for builds, but the odd order might arrive incomplete or need one part small to complete the job. With extended waits for those crucial parts giving us sleepless nights at times.
It wasn’t all struggle though, there was a lot of joy in 2021 too…
Gianluca had a baby, then David, then Sam. Newborns don’t make working flat out easier though, and that must have taken a strain, although the guys seldom showed or shared it.
UCI approval for our Izoard XCR Demo bike happened in 2020, but with customer bikes taking priority, this frame stayed on a hook for most of this year and last. Finally finding the time to complete it in time for Bespoked 2021.
We also went to The Bespoked Show again for the first time since 2018 too. It was incredible to be back in a room with our friends, customers and peers, sharing how far we’ve come creatively and technically and meeting customers face to face for the first time in almost two years.
Dan Hardy our first Project Manager set us up with a robust system for managing builds, before he moved on again this winter. Thanks for all your help, mate. We’ve kept it up, and excited for 2022. Photo courtesy of Cyclist Magazine.
No awards this year at the show, instead Tessa and Phil (the show’s Founders) just wanted people to get together without the need for argy bargy around the Rosettes and it was all the lovelier for it.
Our first carbon bike debuted at the Show of course and the first proper road test lands in Cyclist Mag next month (out end of Jan) and there’s a short feature on the bike and how we made it in this month’s too, out now. That’s a lovely way to start to 2022. Made possible by graft that went in in 2021.
We launched our first integrated carbon fibre road bike in 2021. This image was taken by Cycling Plus for an article out in this month’s magazine. Look out for a detailed road test and review in the March Edition of Cyclist Magazine.
The order book and customers has been the big priority all year but as some of you will know we’ve also opened a funding round to help us grow the business in 2022. We’re inviting customers, friends and fans to get involved in what we’re doing, and help us grow the business by buying shares and sharing in our success.
Despite lockdowns the workshop was busy all summer and we all avoided Covid. Photo Izza (the dog), David, Dan, Simon and Ben.
It turns out running a small business and raising money is a little like trying to rub your belly and pat your head at the same time, so it’s taken all year to get the offer right and get it out there, but we’ve totted up pledges over the last two weeks and we’re comfortable we can achieve what we need to and we’re ready to close that out in January.
Painting this many forks in our small oven was one of the ways Sam was able to catch up on work delayed by parts availability.
Thank you to everyone that’s been in touch and got involved. We’ve been blown away by the support. We’ll be in touch with all of you over the next two weeks with the paperwork and to let you know next steps.
If you’ve not backed our raise yet, it’s not too late to get involved. There’s a prompt here on the website so sign up and I’ll be in touch asap with the details you need to join in and back our raise.
Chaos descended in the run up to the re-scheduled Bespoked Show. But working really late became a pretty regular thing this year. Especially around events, where the only time when the phone wasn’t ringing was late into the evening.
The biggest news there is that we have an institutional investor who’s keen to match every single penny we can raise from the crowd. That’s a massive confidence booster for us and gives our individual investors some reassurance that their commitment will likely be matched by a professional investor too.
Lastly, at the end of a turbulent year, it is our customers who continue to amaze me with their creativity, support and enthusiasm for what we do here at Spoon, Wyndymilla and Gun Control.
We moved into a new Unit to give us more private space for fitting. Tony Corke who joined us again on the regular in 2021, hosted his first Trade Training courses from our place. It was great to have other builders on site to learn from one of the best about good fit and bicycle design.
We’re building meaningful relationships with customers who so often become friends but the challenges of this year have tested some of those relationships more than we wanted to and I’m grateful for all the support, patience and understanding we’ve seen from each and every one of you.
Thank you all.
You’re keeping us doing what we love doing best and I hope whatever you’re wishing for next year comes your way and that you and your families have a, healthy, happy and prosperous new year in 2022.
COVID did shut us down for a lot of December. We’re all back at work this week and next, so if you’re wondering how your build is progressing or waiting on an update we’ll be in touch shortly, this week and next.
Do give us a call in the meantime if you’d prefer of course on +44 (0) 1252 782 960. We’re back and at work and would love to hear from you.
If you’d like to order a new custom bike we have four build slots remaining in our April frame production for Steel, or sooner for carbon with slightly more capacity. And, thanks to a mammoth effort by the whole team last year to pin down parts stock, we can and will supply parts for complete builds too.
Some parts are of course still scarce but we have stock or stock on back order and can be clear about what we’ve got and when we’re expecting what.
Most of Team 2021 (Dan, Simon, Sam, Jen, Luke, David and me) on one of two staff ride outs on the local trails.
We welcomed a couple of new faces at the end of last year, but Luke, Dan and David moved on at various points in 2021. Luke pictured here has been our paint prepper for years but found a job in the music business, his first love. We had a framed pic of the Van Halen bike that he worked on made up for him, to thank him for his service. Thanks to Luke, David and Dan for their hard work and commitment and loads of love and luck in your new jobs, from me and the rest of the team here at Spoon.