In advance of the upcoming Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, Andy White stopped in at The Lost Workshop, one of the many framebuilders scheduled to display their craft at the event. Let’s take a look at more from the Lost Workshop below and, if you’re Down Under near Williamstown this weekend (June 2-4) be sure to check out the Handmade Show!

Ian Michelson, who builds frames under The Lost Workshop marque, can always be found creating. An electrician in a former life, when he’s not mitering tubes or brazing frames in his workshop he is applying masks and laying down paint for Velo Craft. You can also find him baking bread and other delicious treats in his kitchen, a skill passed down from his father who operated a local bakery.

Ian’s path to making bikes took flight in 2016 after he completed a frame building course in Queensland. Since building that first lugged steel frame (which now adorns his workshop wall) he practiced making triangles of brazed tubes in his garage. Word got around and his solo operation evolved into a small enthusiast collective of mates coming over to do the same thing after work and on weekends.

The Lost Workshop is in the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne, connected to the city by a snaking singletrack. The space is neatly laid out with all Ian needs to build steel frames – TIG welded, brazed, or lugged construction. His bikes all embody his philosophy of “RIDE FAR, GET LOST:” to set out on path into the unknown, and enjoy the experiences that come with that.

Ian’s riding roots are on the trails and in the air – my favorite bike of his from last year was the pink hardtail MTB (seen above). For the upcoming show he has a trio of bikes – brazed and lugged, built and painted by him – but you’ll have to wait until June for them to be revealed.

Check out The Lost Workshop on instagram, and if you can, come to see his work and many others at the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia this coming June 2-4, 2023 at Seaworks, Williamstown.