Wow, I've been spending quite a bit of time updating my website with new designs and reorganizing sections with new content. There's lots of new, great things there and some news as well! Please check it out!
I still have more posts coming about the shows I just did this past holiday season and all the fantastic people I met. Stay tuned for those!
I will also be blogging about my experience at the One of a Kind show that finished this past weekend. It was a great show and I met lots of great people but I just haven't had time to sit down and put my thoughts down about it. I'll also be highlighting some of the vendors I really liked from the show as well, but I may have to do it as a series of posts.
Hope to see you at the Artbarns!
So I've done the draw for a pair of OOAK Toronto tickets and the winner is:
Congratulations! I'll be contacting you directly with all the details. Thanks to everyone who started following me on Twitter or liking my Facebook page. Hope to see you all the show!
Just a quick note about my little draw for a pair of One of a Kind Xmas show tickets. I'm going to be doing the draw for the tickets whether or not I reach 100 follows on my Twitter account (@wilkdesigns) or 100 likes on my Facebook page (Wilk Watchworks and Jewellery Designs).
I've decided I'll just do the draw on Sunday November 20th at 5pm EST because it doesn't look like I'm going to reach the 100 mark. Remember if you both follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page, you'll be entered twice in the draw! Good luck everyone!
Well, it's about 2 weeks to go until I'll be at the One of a Kind Xmas Show. Things are coming together but of course, just like always, I think everything is going to come down to the last minute. I always worry that I'm not going to get everything finished that I've set out to do but it always seems to come together in the end. I've been especially ambitious this time around trying to complete 16 new watches for the show and it may be this goal which will be my undoing. As of right now I have 12 watches that should definitely be finished. Here are a couple snaps of the dials in progress:
I've got a mix of some new designs with some designs from my sterling silver watches. I thought I'd bring a couple of those designs over to my stainless steel watches to show that my watches are very customizable.
In terms of the customization available, it can be as simple as swapping one strap out for another or putting in a different movement or as complex as designing a new dial from scratch. I could even go so far as to make a case and dial for you, like the special client who is getting this watch:
So it looks like for the next couple weeks I'm not going to be getting much sleep as I have loads to do, but I'll be at the show starting November 29th in booth # O-35. Please come by and say hi!
I'm still running my ticket giveaway, all you have to do to enter is follow me on Twitter (@wilkdesigns) or like my Facebook page (Wilk Watchworks and Jewellery Designs). Draw will be happening next weekend(Sunday Nov 20th at 5pm EST) regardless of whether or not I reach the goal of 100 followers on twitter or facebook. Good luck!
A big thanks goes out to Heather Camlot from Workliveplaycafe.com for picking my one of my large stainless steel watches as a Top 10 Geek Chic pick for the OOAK this year! Check out the article:
http://www.workliveplaycafe.com/2011/11/top-10-geek-chic-goods-one-of-a-kind-show-sale/
I've just been featured in an article by Thrillist!
The watches that I corraboratively made with Hugh from Movies in Haiku steal the show here because of their awesomeness! Can't wait to make another watch with him.
Thanks again to Thrillist!
I've just been featured in an article by Thrillist!
The watches that I corraboratively made with Hugh from Movies in Haiku steal the show here because of their awesomeness! Can't wait to make another watch with him.
Thanks again to Thrillist!
Just a quick note about my preparations for the One of a Kind show. Not much has changed since my last post except that I should be getting my dials from the caster this week and then the real work starts!
I worked out some new packaging for this show! I have some new boxes for my stainless steel watches and new bags and custom tags for the bags. Here's a picture of what you'll get if purchase a stainless steel watch from me:
Oh and because Halloween just passed, here's a picture of my son and my wife with him all dressed up for his first Halloween ever! I had a lot of fun getting him ready even though the costume was way too big for him and I had to alter it...though I think I had more fun with the lightsabre than he did!
As part my lead up to the One of a Kind Show this year I'm going to be giving away some free admission tickets! When I reach 100 likes on my Facebook page or when I reach 100 followers on my Twitter account I'll make the draw to the followers or "likers" of whichever reaches 100 first. This draw will be for one pair of tickets to the show! Good luck!
As I have for the Queen West Artcrawl, I'm going to be doing a countdown to the One of a Kind Xmas Show. I think this one will be another "right up to the last minute" kind of preparations. For the One of a Kind show, I was producing seven new stainless steel watches as well as having my sterling silver watches. For this years One of a Kind Show, I'm attempting to have about double the new stainless steel watches as well as having the ones I had at the Queen West(provided they don't sell between now and then). There was so much interest in the stainless watches at the Queen West that I've just had to go all out for the One of a Kind.
I guess I should really start with some of the particulars about the One of a Kind this year. It's taking place from Novemeber 24th until Dec 4th at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Please note though that I won't be there for the whole show. I'll be there for the final six days which are from November 29th until Dec 4th. I'm in booth # O-35 which is almost smack dab in the middle of the show floor.
So back to the watches. I've really been busy with coming up with new designs for my stainless steel watches for the show. I'll have new quartz watches, new mechanical watches, new large(above 40mm) mechanical watches and also I'll have new automatic watches, one even has a power reserve indicator! As progress is made on these new designs, I'll be posting some pictures and details regarding these timepieces. All I've got for you now is a couple pictures of the stainless steel cases I'm using.
Stay tuned for my next post, it will most likely be the next in the "Watch Parts" series and then the post after that I should have some new progress news! Thanks for reading!
In this, the first instalment of my blog series about watch parts, I'm going to be examining the watch crystal or the glass of the watch. There isn't a whole lot to this topic, but sometimes the glass is not really glass at all!
In most watches these days, the crystal of the watch is made of one of three materials. First being mineral glass, the second being plastic, and the third being sapphire.
For most lower end watches, lower end being under $500, the crystal of the watch is made from glass. This is basically just like the glass used in the windows of your home but goes through a tempering process to make it a little bit harder and scratch resistant. In the watch industry a regular glass crystal is called a mineral crystal. They break fairly easily if they are hit hard enough or hit on a sharp corner. Throughout the course (so far) of my watch career, I've seen many mineral crystal with scratches or cracks. If you need to get a crystal like this replaced, it usually starts at $20 for a flat round crystal and goes up from there for domed or irregularly shaped crystals.
The second type you might see in a watch is a plastic crystal, basically like plexiglass. They are usually found on older watches or pocket watches and are generally domed. They are quite easily scratched but not as easily broken as mineral crystals. If you need to get the scratches removed, they can sometimes be buffed out or the crystal can be replaced. Fitting these crystals can be somewhat tricky because the plastic generally was made for a specific watch unlike mineral crystals which are just made at certain diameters and thicknesses. If you have a regular brand name watch, a replacement can generally be found.
The third type is the sapphire crystal. This is exactly what it says...it literally is a clear sapphire just like the gemstone, however, this sapphire is laboratory grown. Check out this Wikipedia article about sapphire and read the synthetic sapphire section. Sapphire crystals are very scratch resistant and are a little less prone to breakage than mineral crystals. I've seen a couple shattered sapphire crystals before, but only one scratched one. They are fairly expensive to get replaced, you can count on at least $60, but probably closer to $80 or $100. It is also possible to get your crystal swapped out to be sapphire in some cases if you are prone to scratching your crystal. I use sapphire crystals in all of my sterling silver watches and it is possible (for an additional charge) to have them put into my stainless steel watches.
Lastly, some (generally higher end) watchmakers have been putting anti-reflective coatings on their crystals to reduce glare so to make the dial easier to read. I think we've all had someone in the car reflect the sun in our eyes from their watch. This can be lessened by anti-reflective coatings. Some manufacturers are even going to the extent to put the coatings on the inside and the outside of the crystal. In most cases, the coatings are not that durable, so having the coating on the outside is a risk. Getting the coating redone is next to impossible unless the watch gets sent back to the manufacturer, as this is not a service I've ever seen any watchmaker offer. Suffice to say, it would be quite expensive to get done...just think how much it costs to get done on your eyeglasses.
In the end, the choice for crystals isn't extensive but it can be expensive. Really knowing what is out there can help you make an informed decision if you are in the market for a watch. I hope this has shed some light on watch crystals for you. If you have any questions, please leave a comment!
Hodgepodge, the word that came to me when I was thinking about what I wanted this post to be about. I guess I really just had a bunch of topics and couldn't make up my mind which one to choose, so I choose them all, and here we go:
I've been accepted to the Christmas One of a Kind show here in Toronto, which is taking place at the Direct Energy Centre starting on November 24, 2011 and ending on December 4, 2011. I will only be participating in the show for the second half which runs from Nov. 29 until Dec 4. I really wanted to be in the whole show but was only accepted for the second half...hopefully I'll get in for the whole thing, next year. If you wanted to get a better price on tickets than at the door, please use the code in the picture below to purchase tickets online at a discounted rate. Click on this link to purchase tickets for the show and enter the code at the top of the page. I also haven't found out what my booth number will be, but I should know in a couple weeks and I'll have it posted here and on my website.
I'm also hoping to start a series of blog posts about different parts of a watch, such as the crystal or strap or movement. These posts are meant to be educational for you and me, and hopefully spark some conversation about what people are looking for in a watch. I should have the first in this series next week on the topic of crystals (the glass of the watch). Not really a complex topic, but there are some tidbits I hope you find interesting and would love to hear your feedback on. If there are any topics you would like to see in a post, please let me know!
If you have visited my website recently you may notice that I've reorganized things a little bit. I wanted to add more of an emphasis on the jewellery that I offer which I've broken down into three categories. First is sterling silver jewellery, then custom jewellery, and finally engagement and wedding jewellery. For my silver jewellery, my designs can be purchased through on Etsy shop for jewellery. Over the next two weeks I'll be posting many many more pieces to this shop for your viewing or purchasing pleasure, just in time for the holiday season. You can also see some of these pieces here on the blog by following this link.
Well, thats all I've got for now. Thanks for reading.
I've also reorganized my website and added these three new watches to it.
I will be updating my Cargoh shop with these watches as well, but not tonight because I'm getting really tired.
I also have two other stainless steel watches to post to all three of these spots, but that'll have to wait as well.
I've also decided that I'm dedicated to keeping this blog going(for whoever reads it and for myself) as my last few attempts at blogging have miserably failed. So I'm shooting at this point for one blog post per week on varying topics about watches and jewellery. I'll also try and have some more in depth posts about the process of making both my watches and jewellery. Thanks again for reading.
The aftermath of a show, always a spectacle to behold...well, mostly me trying to recover from exhaustion. So, that's why I'm posting this on the second day after the show because if I posted yesterday, I don't think it would have been coherant. If it weren't for my parents and my amazing wife, I don't think I'd be able to do these shows, so I thank them so much for being there for me.
I'd also like to thank all the fantastic people I met during the course of the show. I had some great discussions with them about my watches and jewellery and a special thanks to all the people who purchased from me this weekend, I wouldn't be able to continue making what I make without your support.
As I mentioned to many, many people this weekend, I didn't get a chance to take photos of all my new stainless steel watches before the show. But I promise that sometime over the next week I'll have them posted here and on my website, Etsy, and Cargoh shops. Though what I can do is take a quick snap of them for you to see. Here you go:
From left to right: automatic, automatic, manual wind, quartz, quartz. I'll have lots more detail; about them after I post them officially. If you have been following my blog throughout the course of the QWAC Prep series, you may have noted that I was making seven stainless watches, well, two sold, so now there are five. Of course, I will be making more! The One of a Kind show is just around the corner and I will be there for the second half. More to come on that in another post.
Lastly, I would really like to thank everyone who helped to make the QWAC happen. I really like everything about the show from the organizing of load-in and out to all the performances that take place and all the volunteers that help. It really is a fantastic show and it couldn't happen without you, and you do a great job! Can't wait until next year!
Had a great first day at the show, wonderful weather, talked to lots of interesting folks who had lots of inquiries about the watches, so all in all, I had a blast! Great also to meet @TheArtOfLeitch in person, had a great chat with him and found out we have a common education at Bealart! Also saw Roz Hermant(wicked photography) and had a great talk(as always) with Margaret Rankin.
So I thought I'd post a couple pictures of our setup and my booth and some of the crowds. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:
If you didn't make it to the show today, come on Sunday! The show runs from 11am until 6pm, and if you do come by, stop by my booth which is number C67 and says hello!
My 3x3 interview has just gone up on Cargoh! 3x3 is this: 1 artist, 3 questions, 3 answers. A huge thanks to the people at Cargoh and especially Gabriel for making this happen! Check out their questions and my answers here:
http://www.cargoh.com/blog/3x3-scott-wilk
http://www.supportcanadianmade.com/2011/09/13/wilk-watchworks/
And here we are, the final week before the show, the time when real panic and hysteria sets in. Everything needs to come together, work(jewellery and watches) need to be finished, items for the booth need to be accounted for, packed and loaded into the car, check and double check the checklist, breath...sometimes I really wonder if its worth it to do these shows. Of course, once I'm there and set up and I start seeing people react to my work(hopefully in a good way), its all worth while(and making a few sales helps too!).
Though this last week before the show is going to be a doozy for me. During this week is my wedding anniversary(8 years married to my wonderful wife), doing all of the regular things like looking after my son all day, cleaning, getting groceries, prepping the house for my parents to stay(they are coming to help at the show...couldn't do it without them), cooking and loads of other things I just can't take the time to think about, plus I've got to get ready for the show. I've also been asked to do online 'interviews' by two different websites(I'll have links to them when they are posted). So, no rest for the weary. But you don't need to hear about my hardships! I'm sure you'd like to see the progress I've made on my watches.
So, the watches. Everything seems to be going well, but I think it's really going to come down to the wire for a couple of them. I discovered at the end of last week that the hands that I ordered for a couple of them weren't the right ones. So out of my mouth poured some profanity and in goes an order to my supplier. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that it arrives on time, if not, there are going to be some strange hands on two of the watches, be warned.
The rest of the watches have been coming along nicely. I even have one finished! Here's a couple photos of some of the dials which are pretty much done and the finished watch. I also tried to take a photo showing the luminous property of the finished watch, but the photo was terrible so I haven't included it, just know that it does glow in the dark!
Seeing as I have so much to do, I'm going to cut short this week's blog. I will be posting another blog just before the show and I'll also be blogging during the show for those people that can't make it can see what they are missing out on. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you all out at the Queen West Artcrawl this coming weekend!
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With only 11 days left until the QWAC, a foreboding sense of panic breaches the surface of my thoughts: Will I finish everything in time? In my last post, I was very worried that I wouldn't get the required parts in time to be able to finish them. Well, the powers that be have shined favourably on me this past week and everyone came through for me. By the end of last week I had rough castings of 8 dials in my hands. I was very happy that this was accomplished, but I was feeling not elation but something akin to disappointment. Why? Then it hit me...I can't go to the cottage and enjoy three lazy days beside the lake, I have to stay home while my wife and son go. And so, I lived the life of a bachelor once again for the long weekend and spent a majority of it down in my studio, working on the dials. Here's a photo of what I was missing out on...
And so, back to what I did all weekend, the dials. I really shouldn't complain though, I enjoy working in the studio on my own work. So below are pictured six of the dials in their rough state.
You can't see it from the pictures, but there are jagged cut-off points on the backs of the dials where the sprues for casting are positioned, so the first step is to saw those off. After those are removed, a rough sanding on the front and back of each dial is done to flatten both sides and smooth them out. Here they are pictured after that process on my bench pin and another rough dial with the sanding dust from another.Next step is to solder on the dial feet which hold the dial to the movement or mechanism of the watch. These have to be precisely positioned on the back of the dial or they won't fit into holes on the movement. This process is difficult at the best of times, even using a jig I hand make for each different type of movement. Needless to say I ended up cutting off a few (or more) dial feet because they were slightly out of alignment, but in the end, I won out. Here's a photo of the dial feet soldered into position on the backs of 2 of the dials.
You might be thinking 'Wow those dial feet are long!' and you would be right! They get trimmed down to different lengths depending on the type of movement used, I just leave them long while soldering because they are easier to hold that way. After trimming I drill the centre hole larger to allow all the posts to stick through and then the process get interesting...it's time to add colour!
For the colour in my dials, I use a resin type of enamel, basically it's a special type of coloured two-part epoxy that you can cure in an oven or allow to cure in the air over a 2 day period. I generally just let them air dry and I have to when using luminous powders. I'm not really sure what would happen to the luminous material if it was heated, so I just play it safe. So I mix up some colour, and apply it to the dials, putting on a generous amount because it shrinks while drying. Here is what the dials look like when they are coated in goo.
And here is the blue one up close and with the lights turned out!You might be having another thought after seeing those pictures: ' Wow what a sloppy guy, those look horrible!' Let me reassure you, this is only temporary. After the resin has cured, it's very hard, so I sand it down flush with the surface of the dial to give it a more pleasing appearance ;-)
So that's as far as I've got this past long weekend, it definitely was a labourious one..............I know, that was terrible. haha.
I also think this may be the time to address another question some of you may have: 'That seems like a lot of work! Are all watch dials made that way?' And the answer is no! I don't think I've ever seen anyone make watch dials this way. My dials are solid sterling silver. Most dials are made from very thin brass that has all of the details/markings printed onto it by a machine using paint or luminous paint. The only part that's really touched by someone on most watches are the little hour markers. On most watches those are made by a machine that stamps them out of a sheet of metal and then they are glued onto the dial either by machine or by hand. I wanted to make dials in a different and interesting way, so as to give the watch a different look and to let the owner know that this watch was handcrafted. I found a YouTube video of how Frank Muller makes their dials to give you an example of how the dial for a watch that costs tens of thousands of dollars is made. As you can see, my process is completely different, not necessarily better, just different.
I'd love to hear your comments about my blog and also if you have any questions regarding any of my processes. Hope you all had a great long weekend.
11 days till the Queen West Artcrawl!
Well, one week has past and not much has happened. The timeline that I had planned has been rewritten and it's looking much much tighter. When making things as complicated as watches, I unfortunately can't do everything myself and unfortunately one of the people that helps me in the process had an emergency this past week which is why the dials of my watches are not in my hands yet.
However, all is not lost! There should still be time(barely) to get the stainless steel watches I mentioned in my last post finished. I did get the rest of the parts and materials I need for them today, which I'm very happy about! New straps, more cases, some different coloured luminous powders and some other items. Here's two photos of the luminous powder...love that stuff!
I've also been working on my showcases...making some slight modifications here and there to spruce them up. Can't have them looking shabby for the Queen West Artcrawl!
I also got my new credit card terminal up and running. I used to use the old behemoth credit card imprinter...you know those ones that you have to run back and forth over a card which has an imprinter slip over it, I always called it the chunka chunka machine because of the sounds it made. But not anymore! Through the miraculousness of technology I can now do Visa and Mastercard transactions through my iPhone! I'm so happy to finally be part of the 21st century. I even have a swiper thingy that attaches to the iPhone. Here's a picture to show you what it looks like:
Only 18 days left to go until the show and things are looking a little worrysome but we'll just have to wait and see what this week holds. I'll have more for you next week and as always please visit my website, the Queen West Artcrawl website and if you have a spare moment, follow me on twitter!
