Neil: Strava is great and everything, but we all know that sometimes the best bike rides are the ones where you set off without a clear plan, not really knowing where you are headed, with all sorts of unexpected twists and turns and surprises along the way.
I guess our journey with The Handmade Cyclist has been a little like that. The Handmade Cyclist started off back in 2011 as a side hustle (before they were called side hustles). I was working in London leading major events for the BBC. Being based on the edge of the South Downs this meant twiddling my thumbs on an hour each way train ride into Waterloo. After some prompting from Wendy I started designing cycling art to kill the time – and this was in a time when cycling art wasn’t really a thing. There were probably a couple of designers who produced great bike art, but if you looked at Etsy there really wasn’t a lot on there (unlike today).
Wendy: To be honest, I had no clue that Neil was such a bike geek when I met him. We met because we both worked in the music industry in London and spent much of our time gallivanting around town going to gigs and parties, we were too knackered at the weekends to do much else, so there was no hint of his cycling obsession in the early days.
It was only on a visit to Kenmare in Ireland to see his Dad, when I realised his love for bikes. We hired two old boneshakers and set off on a gentle pootle (or so I thought). At the bottom of a rather steep climb, Neil’s eyes lit up and he vanished like a rocket. Then was annoyed that my bike was waaay faster than his on the descent.
This was a moment I will never forget. It officially marks the beginning of me becoming a bike widow. From that point, he bought a bike, the lycra came out the closet and he talked much of his first loves - Stephen Roche, Sean Kelly and Campagnolo Delta Brakes.
Fast-forward a little and we moved to the countryside. I was working on creative industry policy for London but the commute to London was tough. I had our first baby and Neil was often in a field working at a music festival, so I started to think about doing something more local. I’m the one who has a huge interest in design and creativity - which I think, ultimately, is what makes us such a good team.
Juggling family and work, we hatched a plan: combining Neil's graphic design skills and love of cycling and my love of design to launch Handmade Cyclist.
I look back to how we founded Handmade Cyclist and at that time there was a burst of new marketplaces like Etsy on the internet that allowed creatives and designers to sell niche products and find customers so much more easily. Etsy was a great platform to start on – no huge digital costs. It’s all done for you. The algorithm was kind to us in the beginning and we got a lot of orders quite quickly.
Neil: We were incredibly lucky that the very first designs we did got picked up by a number of blogs including CyclingTips and Road.cc among others - and we suddenly started selling prints, much to my surprise. Something about the artwork just connected right from the start. We gradually added more art, then we started making our legendary ceramics, then T-shirts. There wasn’t really a plan as it grew organically and we picked up fans along the way.
Wendy: We were both pretty surprised at how quickly things took off and I sometimes look back and chuckle at the early days of The Handmade Cyclist. As a small business you roll your sleeves up and crack on. One day I was having dinner with the Chief Exec of the British Fashion Council, the next packing posters on our kitchen table. I would often hold up the queue at the post office with 200 poster tubes. The biggest challenge back then, was trying to avert the kids from putting their sticky jammy fingers over the prints.
But I loved it. The one thing I have always loved about running a business, is you are always learning something new - it constantly pushes you out of your comfort zone. We've had a few failures - but we learn the lesson and try again.
Neil: As with so many things though, the pandemic changed everything. By this point I was running my own events business and in the space of 24 hours my entire livelihood disappeared. It was such a stressful, worrying time, but sometimes great things come out of adversity and for the first time we were really able to dedicate ourselves full-time to growing The Handmade Cyclist.
We opened our first pop-up shop between the first two lockdowns, on what is now the site of our cycling café - The South Downs Social in Winchester. We improved our marketing and started to grow the business much faster. In November 2021 we took the big leap and opened the café (despite having zero experience in hospitality), creating what we hope is the perfect space for cyclists. Much like founding The Handmade Cyclist, we’ve been guided more by our love of cycling and a gut feeling for what our customers want. It’s been hard, rewarding work and we’re blown away by how popular the cafe has become. Fast forward to today. The café is thriving and it’s time to focus again on the mothership brand - The Handmade Cyclist.
Wendy: Throughout the years, The Handmade Cyclist has been a labor of love, for the first few years running alongside our day jobs. Thankfully, Carl and Sarah, our trusted printing, shipping, and framing team, have been the constant since day one—they're legends. Not to mention, our Stoke-based pottery supplier Roy Kirkham & Sons, another family run business.
Behind the scenes, there's a small yet mighty ecosystem of suppliers who share our commitment to quality and good business practices. We love to collaborate with fellow small businesses and support local economies.
Neil: We’ve got huge plans for the future - we’ve just launched our new rebrand and over the coming months we’ve got a pipeline of new products, new designs and a wide range of goods, all built with our love of cycling at their core. Our new slogan is ‘off-bike goods for on-bike culture’ and I just think that sums us up so well. I’ve cycled all my life, I know what’s out there on the market and I’ve always had a keen eye for what is quality and what is just crap merchandise. We’ll always focus on making the highest quality, most sustainable goods that we can, that we think cyclists will value and treasure and which really understand what they want and need.
Wendy: We'd rather sell fewer items made with love and care than fill the world with plastic rubbish. There’s loads of great designers and brands out there but that doesn’t deter us. We have seen some amazing brands come and go, so we will continue to grow steadily and do our thing.
I personally want to really focus on our values and sustainability. We want to take as much control of the production process as we can. We only work with suppliers who treat their employees well, pay them fair wage and who take every step they can to look after the planet. I’d much rather we sold fewer things that last longer and that are really loved than flooding the market with cheap merchandise. I really want us to become a B-CORP business, it feels like the natural next step for us.
Neil: It’s certainly been a meandering road to get here with some pretty tough hills as well as some fantastic, whooping descents. I think if you were to tell the person I was before we started The Handmade Cyclist that one day we would have a beautiful, boutique cycling brand featuring my designs and a thriving bike cafe then I’m not sure I would have believed you - but I’m incredibly proud that the road led us here.
When I look back at the last thirteen years, I think we have a much clearer roadmap now and we’re definitely accelerating towards the horizon. I’m just delighted that so many customers have come along the on the ride with us - and we’re looking forward to creating even more great products for them in the future.
Wendy: It really feels like we’re just getting started. It’s such an exciting time to be part of The Handmade Cyclist - we love building our community and especially as we know what’s coming around the corner. It’s a big year ahead!
