For most American riders motorcycling is a passion or, at least, a pastime - instead of a necessity. Iron steeds are prized possession, not mere conveyances. And so, many are the times when their devotees would prefer to have the wind in their face -- instead of facing the workaday rat race. But all too often, it seems, weather, or season, or duty all can occasionally conflict with - indeed, override - the need to ride.That's where Don Cardinal comes in. This man is - the best way to put it - a motorcycle artist. And he specializes in creating home and office furnishings inspired by motorcycle design. Through his firm, Cycle Concepts, he offers a line of custom-crafted, built to order and thoroughly authentic reminders that the open road is never far off.

We say "authentic" because Mr. Cardinal has been constructing award-winning, magazine featured, custom motorcycles for over two decades. Some of his hand-crafted creations have been valued in the vicinity of $35,000. His talents run the full required gamut of welding, painting, fabrication, finishing and assembly. And, his home /office furnishing designs are built to the same exacting standards of durability and appearance as his bikes.

Don arrived at this new avocation by a circuitous route. Last spring, he found himself snow-bound by a surprise April blizzard that buried and subsequently collapsed his mailbox into a sheet-metal mess under the weight of heavy, plowed slush. And surrounded by a mountain of spare motorcycle parts from a winter of wrenching, he solved his two-pronged problem in one stroke. A newly custom-painted motorcycle gas was converted into a letterbox and mounted on a motorcycle front fork and wheel. And, this clever assemblage appeared on the roadside in the place of its fallen forebear. Within days this eye-catching call card was filling up with not only with ordinary mail, but also inquiries, business cards and offers to purchase.

The result of this impromptu market research? By far the greatest clamor came from those wanting floor lamps of similar design. And so, when Don launched Cycle Concepts the first order of business was to create full-height, free-standing floor motor-inspired lamps to meet the demand. Built-to-order, the lamps feature the same quality materials, attention to detail and spectacular design that Don has been instilling in his motorcycles for years. Each lamp is unique in color, design and fitments. Each carries a hand engraved signature of the artist and serial number. Don can construct lamps in the style of all vintage of front forks. The range runs from: early pre-war springers; to custom chopper front ends with long, long tubes, ape-hanger bars and tiny tanks; to late-model teleglides with large fat bob gas carriers.

Welding is exclusively heli-arc, fasteners are mil-spec and the finest industrial techniques and materials are used throughout. All fork tubes are heavy wall, mirror polished and then clear anodized for long lived luster. Authentic motorcycle components and accessories include handlebars, grips, control levers, fork seals and cables. Fork tube types and gas tanks in a variety of types available; each example of the latter is uniquely painted in a variety of durable, multi-color translucent and pearlescent urethanes -- plus special graphics to order. Lamps are housed in a polished, chromed or painted alloy or steel housing. A full range of voltages and wattages are available. A particularly nice features is a dimmer control actuated by a cleverly converted motorcycle twist throttle. Overall lamp sizes range from desktop to twelve feet high for broad area illumination.

Although Cycle Concepts maintains a small inventory of ready-built lamps for those desiring the fastest delivery possible, they are primarily focused on building to individual orders. Cycle Concepts can even duplicate the design and style of an individual motorcycle in a lamp from photos. All products feature a hand engraved plate with serial number, signature and date. All lamps are designed for ordinary UPS shipment and can be assembled within 15 minutes with ordinary hand tools. The lamps feature a lifetime superstructure warranty, and private labeling is available.