From engineer
to watchmaker.

Hi, I'm Carlson

I take things apart to see how they work. Then I put them back together better.

I'm an engineer by background, and a pretty practical person in general. If something has moving parts, I want to know how it works. For me that started with vintage motorcycles: riding them, fixing them, rebuilding them. It didn't take long to spread to vintage watches.

I've always loved arts and crafts too. Honestly, I have so many passions I don't even know where to start: jewelry making, motorcycles, fixing and tinkering with just about anything. Watches are where all of it comes together. They're precision engineering you can hold in your hand, and a piece of craft you wear every single day.

A watch should be something custom, something personal. You shouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars for it, or pay mostly for a brand name.

That's what always bugged me. A truly personal watch barely exists out there unless you're paying thousands and thousands of dollars, and with a lot of watches, you're mostly paying for the name on the dial.

So I built the alternative. At Forge & Time you choose every part, I teach you how it all goes together, and you leave wearing a real mechanical watch that you built with your own hands. It's the only place in Vancouver where you can do that.

And because it's mechanical, there's no battery to die and nothing sealed shut. Look after it, get it serviced now and then, and it'll keep running for years. As an engineer, that's what I like most about it: it's built to be fixed, not thrown away.

From hobby to Gastown studio

Eventually I left engineering to build something of my own. Forge & Time started as a hobby. Thanks to a lot of people and a lot of support from friends, family, and every guest who has sat down at our bench, it has grown into a real business in the heart of Gastown.

To everyone who's been part of it: thank you. Seriously.

Carlson
Founder & instructor, Forge & Time