Stainless Steel Watches posted....mostly!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I've posted three of my new stainless steel watches to my Etsy shop.

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.

Queen West Art Crawl Aftermath

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!

Early morning on Day 2 of the show

QWAC Day 1

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:

See the full gallery on Posterous

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!

 

Featured as a 3x3 artist on Cargoh!

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

 

 

Featured on Support Canadian Made!

Thanks so much to Support Canadian Made for featuring my watches and I on their website!

http://www.supportcanadianmade.com/2011/09/13/wilk-watchworks/

QWAC Crunch Time

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!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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!

QWAC Prep Part 3: 11 days left to go!

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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...

I also later found out that my father-in-law cooked steaks and the whole family went out to outdoor art show in the area and tootled around the lake in the boat...nah, I'm not jealous at all.

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.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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.

See the full gallery on Posterous

And here is the blue one up close and with the lights turned out!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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!