my path?!
i'm not sure what that means, but one very, very important fact
that folks should imprint into their psyche: back in the 70s, framebuilding
was at or near the top of the pyramid. iow, framebuilders were at the
vanguard wrt what they presented to the public as well as what was
capable when market share and the like took a back seat to innovation,
profitability, and/or model year mentality.

all that changed (or flip-flopped) in the post mtb era that consumed the
1980s. essentially, manufacturing techniques, materials, and many other
things improved exponentially, making the need to visit a framebuilder
almost unneccesary. keep this historical chestnut in mind: prior to the
1980s it was almost unthinkable that your best bicycle (or the one you'd
race on) would be commercially made. almost all came from framebuilders,
or at least from the design corner of a large maker. innovation made most
of this (that?) nearly obsolete.

so where am i going with this? nowhere really. but the hidden message
is that it's been a really long time since the average consumer recognized
framebuilding as what it once was. many see it as an oddity, a side show
to the industry, and one that's populated by undercapitalized shops that
are not very focused. there are some that may survive and prosper. but
as the luthier article mentions, "Start with this Undeniable Truth #1 of
luthiery life: There are far too many luthiers in the world..."

endnote: it'd be a hard row to hoe as a framebuilder unless you already
are a framebuilder, and one with a long established skill set and clientele
at that.

fwiw, i cull all my opinions about this in my blog, and you might find a
passage or two that helps you. http://richardsachs.blogspot.com/

ps. that's quite a good read from the luthier link-ee-poo. i hope you're
not chaffed if you see me paste it elsewhere.