Crispin Jones has always pushed his creativity to reinvent what a watch could be. With his background in fine art, he initially began making speculative watches as part of an exhibition, but was drawn to the challenge of making the accessories more commercial.
Crispin started with small production runs of just 100 pieces each. But when these limited edition watches started selling, he increased production of a permanent collection for his new company, Mr. Jones Watches. “We find this to be a really successful model, because it allows us to be very experimental with designs and we’re never too committed to inventory,” says Crispin.
Experimentation has been at the heart of Mr. Jones Watches’ success since the beginning. Crispin’s inspirational approach has benefits for any brand trying to stand out in the market.
Don’t miss any episodes! Subscribe to Shopify Masters.
Collaborate on new watch designs
Crispin says that after a few years of designing every watch the company produced, he began to feel that the designs were becoming outdated. “I was out of ideas,” he says. “So I started reaching out to friends to collaborate with.”
Some of his early collaborators weren’t just other artists or designers. For example, Crispin reached out to people who had a different connection to time, such as Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree. Graeme takes part in a type of race where athletes try to complete as many laps as possible in an hour. Crispin says Graeme’s perspective helped bring a poetic sensibility to the design they created together.
These days, Crispin sources designs from a mix of collaborators, including well-known artists, company employees, recent art school graduates, and even people submitting non-public designs. requested.
Create a fair and transparent compensation model
No matter who Crispin works with, he gives everyone the same deal: an upfront payment for creating the design, plus a 5% royalty if the watch sells in its first edition. When that happens, the company reissues it as part of its permanent collection.
Crispin says this model has allowed him to create a business that is sustainable and fair to artists.
Bringing manufacturing to the UK
Mr Jones Watches also took an unconventional route by carrying out the printing and assembly in the UK, instead of outsourcing the work to a factory overseas.
Initially, this decision was driven by Crispin’s desire to recover the samples more quickly. But soon he bought his own printing machine and hired employees to make the watches locally. This approach to manufacturing initially limited designs. “I was making designs that fit our runway,” he says, explaining that certain colors or materials would be difficult for his team to integrate.
Crispin overcame this challenge by collaborating with other artists who did not know the limitations of the machinery. He also hired people with fine art training rather than people with commercial art training. “We find them really good at this job because they are very used to this creative problem-solving mindset,” Crispin says.
Avoiding trends
Crispin says the company’s “boldness of vision” continues to be key to its success. This means not following design trends or trying to create a watch that appeals to everyone. “Our guiding principle is: ‘To what extent does this watch represent the work of this artist or designer?’ “, he said.
Instead of worrying about trends or algorithms he can’t control, Crispin prefers to focus on the aspects of the business he can control. “All we can do is identify an artist that we think is really interesting and distinctive, and then try to translate that as best we can into a watch,” he says.
To learn more about how Mr. Jones Watches nurtures creativity, listen to full interview on Shopify Masters.
