PORCELAIN BY MICHAL BAČÁK

Our latest Bespoke project is a bicycle for an avid bike collector based in Bangkok who also happens to be a porcelain lover. The project which took thirteen months to complete required an enormous creative input. Festka’s art director Tom Hnida says he knew immediately who to invite on board for it: Michal Bacak, the renowned Czech artist and illustrator. Luckily Michal loved the idea of decorating a bicycle frame by hand. He created his own amalgam of the Portuguese Azulejo and English Churchill Blue Willow decorative styles - drawing in cobalt blue complemented by accents in 24 carat gold. Every single detail was carefully thought out and consulted with the client. The design shows all the milestones in the life of the owner, from the names of his children to his hobbies such as travelling, playing the flute and his love of bicycles and the sport of cycling.

Despite its fragile appearance, this frame is a proper Festka Spectre with all its racing might. It can be ridden, and ridden hard. Even the top components selected for this frame were not good enough. To get a perfect match we had to strip off the silver manufacturer’s logos and replace them with more subdued hand painted designs of our own conception. And we replaced the default bearings in the Lightweight wheelset with best performance ceramic ones.

“I have many custom bikes, but today I saw a real custom bike.”

– The customer's first impression

“When the client told me what he wanted, I knew immediately who to invite to participate. I love the work of Michal Bačák, especially his ability to work in the minutest detail. The design works two ways - the frame looks wonderful from afar but it’s when you take a closer look that the stories start to appear…”

– Tom Hnida – Festka Art Director

Michal Bačák studied product design at the School of Fine Arts in Zlín. He later combined graphic design education with practical work in the Netherlands. Bačák receives many commissions from big name businesses such as a recent one from Hermes. He won The Illustrator of the Year category at the 2016 Czech Grand Design awards.