Craft meets craft
This one-off frame has been transformed by Porta Romana, British lighting and furniture company renowned for their artisanal craftsmanship and hand-painted finishes.
At their Surrey-based design studio, our Italia RC frameset underwent hours of meticulous preparation and finishing. Porta Romana’s team hand-applied a gilded finish to the Condor downtube logo, paired with their rich burnt ochre hand painted finish.
Every detail has been carefully considered from brass headbadge to bottle cage bolts, resulting in a bicycle where performance engineering meets decorative artistry.
The Finish
The finish applied to this frame draws on Porta Romana’s Burnt Ochre finish—originally developed for sculptural lighting pieces, where texture allows the surface to evolve and respond to light.
Translating this finish onto the smooth aluminium of the Condor Italia RC required a fundamentally different approach.
"Burnt Ochre was originally developed for our Clam Shell Uplighter, where the deep grooves and rippled surface allow the finish to settle and evolve naturally."
The Challenge
Applying this to a bicycle frame introduced a new challenge—working on a surface without natural texture. Porta Romana tested layers and finishes on tubes before beginning to work on the frame.
“Working on a smooth surface required a much more deliberate approach… with ten layers of paints and varnishes, and an array of brushes, to recreate the same complexity.”
Technique & Depth
The finish itself is built through a layered gilding process that prioritises variation over uniformity.
“It’s essentially a mottled or broken gilding effect. The gold isn’t applied as a flat layer—it’s painted, brushed back, and softened with tinted varnishes, creating movement rather than a uniform metallic finish.”
The underlying tones play a crucial role in how the finish is perceived.
“It starts with a deep grey, before brown and ochre tones are built up… with speckling in plaster white, verdigris and yellow to create depth. Blue tones recede whilst lighter shades lift.”
Porta Romana
For over three decades, Porta Romana’s painting studio has been central to their design process. It is here that they developed a distinctive library of hand-painted finishes, built on a deep understanding of materials, texture and time-honoured techniques. This collaboration draws directly from that heritage, applying traditional gilding methods in a new context.
Condor and Porta Romana share a common philosophy: to create objects that are made to last and to be lived with. Every Porta Romana piece is handcrafted and unique—just like every Condor bicycle.
Whether refining a living space or building a bike for the road ahead, we both believe in creating something personal, considered and enduring.
Designed with Purpose
This project is part of Porta Romana’s support of Clerkenwheels fundraising ride. From 15th - 19th May, Clerkenwheel’s founders, Jonathan Forster and Tom Bourne, will make their way across the south of England, connecting with studios and makers along the route. Finishing at Clerkenwell Design Week on day five, a place closely connected to both design and Condor’s home.
Their goal is to raise £10,000 for United in Design’s Education and Outreach Programme, helping to transform the lives of 1,000 young people across the UK by improving access to the design industry.
The bicycle will be on display at Clerkenwell Design Week where it will be raffled by Clerkenwheels. All funds raised will go directly to UiD’s classroom-facilitated programme that serves to open doors, elevate voices, and champion a more inclusive, representative design future.
