Schofield’s first physical, actual real life shop is millimetres from done! Primed and awaiting your visits. I thought this a good opportunity to tell you about the window design which was BTW surprisingly complicated to make. There are two panels each taking four hours to print. My demands were that it was to be printed full colour both sides, you can’t have it pretty from the outside only! But I also wanted perfect colour rendering because the shades are subtle. Finally, perfect registration, I did not want to see white edges. The firm for the job was Special Art Services in Hove, with a printer that laid down the white before the CMYK on both sides at the same time – amazing!
2. You cannot talk about Schofield without mentioning the sea, or more specifically the British coast, it is our playground. Many watch companies occupy a specific domain be it under the sea or in the air, even space. We took the coast (and were the first to do so 🙂 The lighthouse represents that exact threshold between land and sea and we see Smeaton’s Tower throughout our designs. It is without doubt one of the coolest things ever made. With too much narrative for a single Pip I’ll close by saying that lighthouses and their meaning to Schofield watch owners is more than just branding.
3. Red and green, port and starboard, more lights, sometimes strange, like in this poem by Richard Brautigan, which after months of negotiations we were granted permission to use:
O beautiful
was the werewolf
in his evil forest.
We took him
to the carnival
and he started
crying
when he saw
the Ferris wheel.
Electric
green and red tears
flowed down
his furry cheeks.
He looked
like a boat
out on the dark
water.
4. Red and green tears or rain? Lights on the UFOs and throughout Schofield designs. The Strange Lights watch has either red or green dials (and UFOs on the back). Some watch boxes have this poem engraved inside and frankly the vide is just a little obscure and you know we like a little obscurity.
5. We play with the idea of treasure both keeping it close if you have it and discovering it if you have not, naturally we are a company keen on the transition between the two! What better way to show you where to find it? X marks the spot! Also at the end of the rainbow.
6. There is so much more like night and day (more on light), the beam of light, new starts (rising sun) even a little drowning (we’re all good) but I will finish by picking out the Telford Iron Bridge. Like Smeaton’s Tower it is a marvel of engineering and design, this time on a river. Schofield’s shop is 10 yards from the River Adur, 5 miles from the sea. It seemed right.
