The tray “Yefim Artamonov — Inventor of the Bicycle” was designed by Gennady Petrovich Babin in 1976. It was his graduation work at the Ural School of Applied Arts. Later, Gennady Babin worked as the chief artist at the Emalposuda (Enamelware) factory where the traditional Ural painting was being revived. He also served as deputy director of the enterprise.

The craftsman organized a school for artistic excellence and a creative group at the tray painting workshop. Their main goal was to break away from standardization and cultivate uniqueness in their products. They mastered the art and taught the staff to abandon the Moscow style (multi-layer painting, imitating Zhostovo style) in favor of the Ural style.

When choosing a composition for this tray, Gennady Babin researched the legend of Yefim Mikheyevich Artamonov, the inventor of the first Russian bicycle from Nizhny Tagil. While working on his graduation project, he visited lacquer painting centers near Moscow — Zhostovo and Fedoskino.

Gennady Babin painted this tray in a single week. He selected an old 19th-century forged tray and used a multi-layer technique to create a unique composition.

Between 1976 and 1988, the tray was part of the collection of the Ural School of Applied Arts. In 1988, on the day the exhibition “Ural Lacquer Painting of the 18th–20th Centuries” was closed, the tray was donated to the Metallurgical Ural Museum-Reserve. Here, it has become part of the permanent exhibition in the museum of tray painting history. “Yefim Artamonov — Inventor of the Bicycle” was the first step in the career of Gennady Babin.

The craftsman has participated in shows at the All-Union Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy and local exhibitions in Nizhny Tagil. He has contributed to preserving traditions and developing the tray art in Nizhny Tagil. In 2017, his achievements were recognized with the title of Keeper of Folk Arts and Crafts of the Sverdlovsk Region. He became one of the first residents of Nizhny Tagil to receive this title.