On the Potter’s Wheel

by Pete Harrington July 24

Considering he's only a few days away from boarding a flight to a new life in LA, Sarto cyclist Giles Harrison seems pretty calm. Even serene. Some of that could be down to the fact that he's not moving to LA with dreams of the silver screen but with a highly successful business demanding his presence on the ground in the States. But before I can order a coffee and join Giles at his table at our meet point of choice, the cycling-themed Dynamo cafe/restaurant in South West London, my head is turned by the sight of a magnificent opalescent grey Sarto parked by the entrance. It's truly gorgeous, with flowing lines that gracefully draw the eye from the head tube to the seat stays, drivetrain, clipless pedals and deep black Enve wheels that clearly don't abide idling. I'd better make this a quick chat.

"I started the business in 2020, just before lockdown," he begins. "Up to that point, I'd been involved in e-commerce startups for my entire career and had a keen interest in the sector. Coincidentally, I had started helping a knitting business with its marketing strategy. I met the founders and was fascinated by how they could take someone who had never dropped a stitch to fully-fledged knitting, all at a distance, online." At this point, Giles had his lightbulb moment. "No one had done for pottery what my client had done for knitting. From that moment, I was all in."

A bewildering array of options, tools, methods, and materials almost ended Giles's plans until, after much research, he found an air-dry clay that perfectly suited his at-home aspirations. The only major challenge that remained was working out a methodology that could chip away at pottery's exclusionary vibe ('Do you even kiln?') and give his customers the confidence to try and even excel at a new hobby at home.

Before long, Giles and his partners arrived at a winning formula, and when lockdown arrived, seemingly the perfect business for customers restricted to four walls, keen to delve into a new hobby that didn't involve screens, especially one that took them away from the worries of the world to what was in their hands, with all of the meditative, mindful benefits that followed.

"We went from packing pottery kits in a friend's front room to a COVID-safe production space very quickly to needing even more space," he laughs. “It really took off, although, of course, it was immensely difficult scaling up logistics during lockdown."

And now America is calling. How did that happen? "Post-COVID, like many businesses, we lost the customers who were only with us to pass the time and get through lockdown. However, we steadily grew into our natural customer base and became stronger than ever." So come Tuesday, Giles jets off to LA to spearhead the US arm of the business, a reaction to a natural, unsought drip of orders from the States that soon became a flood.

"My brother inspired me to start cycling," says Giles, smiling wryly. "He was into dirt jumping, and I would try to follow along. He was very encouraging when I started trying to jump off things that were a little too adventurous" That sounds like typical elder brother behaviour. And his first bike? "I had a Kona Stinky Junior - a kid's bike with 24" wheels and suspension. It was cumbersome but the only thing I could fit." A few crashes, including a severe incident that broke some ribs, eventually turned Giles away from the dirt towards the road, but the problem of finding a bike that would fit remained. Another compromise kid's bike followed, albeit good enough to allow Giles to feel the allure of the asphalt. "I started to enjoy it and felt competitive. The endorphins kicked in, and I felt the satisfaction of getting better."

Giles' Sarto was almost on the horizon. However, there was one more bike to go, courtesy of Talbot frameworks in South London. As a custom frame, it was a step up in all areas, but with its 24" wheels, still less than ideal. Keen to improve the fit further, Giles connected with James at Sarto's partner Bicycle in Richmond, South West London, a recognised bike fitting authority. "That was the first time I'd had a proper bike fit, and it transformed my experience," he says. "James was wonderful. We did a lot together - changed the saddle and dropped its height, reduced the crank length, installed narrower bars, and shortened the reach. My first ride out was a revelation. It showed me that despite my size requirements, there was a path to feeling good and fast on the bike."

Three years and many iterations later, Giles and James hit the limits of where his existing frame could go, and their conversation steered towards a Sarto, perhaps the natural candidate when customisation is on the cards. "James told me he had a good relationship with Sarto and thought they'd be able to create something for me - possibly a new silhouette outside their model range," he says. "So James took some final measurements and sent them off to Sarto. Forty-eight hours later, I received an email from a very excited James that included a complete CAD drawing from Sarto - Enrico at Sarto had designed a frame, a bespoke model that suited my every measurement and profile. And it ran 700c wheels! I was blown away."

"We had to overcome several challenges during the process, one of which was that Giles would not fit our bike fitting jig - usually the source of crucial frame contact data. To get around that issue, we used his existing 24" wheeled custom bike, fitted with an adjustable stem as a testbed to understand best where the contact points needed to be. Over a matter of months, we tested differing handlebar heights and reaches. Giles' remit was simple: he wanted to be on 700c wheels, and Sarto had no hesitation in making his wish come true!"