OUR COMPANY

Maker Watch Company was founded in 2017 with a vision to make high quality custom watches using wood and epoxy that tell a story. We've since expanded our offering to include custom leather straps and wall clocks. Our purpose is to create a remarkable experience, unlike any other in the industry. An experience that doesn't end after you get your custom timepiece. But one that pulls you back every time you glance at it. As simple as it may seem, there's a split second, a moment in time when you look glance to check the time, a moment of ultimate presence. It's that tiny moment we try to make beautiful. Every watch case, leather strap and wall clock is designed and handmade in Oakville, Ontario. The wood used in our watches is stabilized and kiln-dried for our wall clocks to ensure durability against the elements. Our custom straps are made from vegetable tanned leather and built to last. 

In the end it's your story we help bring to life in the form of functional art.

FOUNDERS AND FRIENDS SINCE 1994

We've been childhood friends since the age of five. Our relationship quickly flourished while playing on the same T-ball team. We completed elementary school together and went separate ways for high school and university. Despite being apart for the majority of our teen years and early 20's we made an effort to meet every quarter to catch up over coffee and dinner. 

Maker Watch Co.® is a Made in Canada business backed by the strength and trust of over 25 years of friendship. This is arguably our strongest asset as a team next to our wild creativity and phenomenal customer service :)

Left: Justin Right: Nibin 

Photo by Livin6ix 

HOW IT STARTED:

Circa 2014, Justin sketched out a wooden watch with a skeleton movement that he wanted to make as he never could find one in the market that got him excited. He loved watches and working with his hands. During the summer of 2016, while working construction, Justin decided to re-open the sketchbook with that original drawing and started the process of making his ideal wooden watch. 

He invested $1,500 in an old lathe, some basic chisels, and started learning how to turn wood. On one of their meetups, Justin updated Nibin on the watch, and Nibin was obsessed with the process. A process of trial and error that took Justin almost 6 months and resulted in build No. 1 - "The OG." 

January 2017, Nibin shared the OG watch to his personal Instagram, and his high school teacher, Emidio Santroni, messaged and asked how he could buy one. Emidio was our first client, and Maker Watch Company Inc. was officially founded in May of 2017.

OUR LONG TERM VISION

From day one, our vision has been simple - Create remarkable products that people can get excited about sharing. We're on a making journey to create a sustainable and healthy business that inspires people to share their stories.

Prior to focusing our time to Maker Watch Company we were toying with the idea of starting our own coffee shop as we've always shared a passion for good coffee. Rumor has it that we make the BEST CAPPUCCINO in Mississauga. Full disclosure - we started this rumor and stand by it. Come on by sometime and give our cap a try! Our ultimate end goal is to establish a dual purpose watch making/coffee shop in the Greater Toronto Area. We want to create a warm and welcoming space that feels like home to anyone. A place where you can connect, build, and maintain relationships with old and new friends over the best coffee while watching stories of custom watches being constructed in the background. 

We can't wait to meet you in person one day in our physical space. Till then, we're happy to meet you virtually via e-mail, video chat, or phone call! 

Thank you for your continued support in our craft, it means the world to us.

Love,

Justin & Nibin

PS - DM us anytime on Instagram!

LISTEN TO OUR STORY VIA PODCAST: 

If you're new here this podcast covers a good amount of our story in less than an hour. 

JUSTIN - CHIEF MAKER

Hey I’m Justin, or Mowgs as Nibin has made it his goal to change my name to :)

I do the making and construction of our little pieces. I’ve always enjoyed tinkering and taking things apart….often not putting them back together lol. Science class was always something I’d look forward to when there was an experiment going on. I’ve never been the best student, generally only giving things time that held my interest. Which always had something to do with using my hands. I spent almost a decade (ages 17- 27) feeling lost and not knowing what type of “work” really made me happy. I consumed countless non-fiction books, travelled, and questioned people in that time. I had this incessant need to figure out a direction. Fast forward to fall of 2016 where I started working on the OG in my spare time and spent countless hours out in the garage during the Canadian winter. In hindsight it’s obvious, at the time it was just fun. Then as if by a stroke of luck Nibs found the OG cool and shared it to his social, the rest is history. I feel extremely grateful to be working on Maker and slowly creating our little world. For Nibs, Emidio and everyone that’s seen value in what we do, I/we sincerely appreciate it. Although I have no idea what the future holds as we take this journey I don’t feel lost and for this I’m forever grateful <3.

JACOB -  ASSISTANT MAKER

NIBIN -  BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Hey! I'm Nibin (aka Nibs or Dylan as per the community), and I support Justin with the business and everything non-making. I've loved operations and building services businesses where I get to connect with genuine people. I've worked for large companies in the USA and Canada and ended up leaving all those jobs to try and start something new every time. My entrepreneurial spirit has led to many non-traditional decisions in my life. I've had a lot of at-bats and struck out a ton too. Before joining Justin full-time on Maker, I worked full-time at my 3rd corporate gig. I devoted my evenings and weekends to help grow the business and realized that I needed to be all in for us to get to the next level so here we are!

Free free to connect with me on LinkedIn or via e-mail at create@makerwatchcompany.com

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