Season 2 Episode 1 – Ian Schon: For the Love of Craft
Plus Nick Manousos on the state of watchmaking in the U.S.
In this episode, we sit down with mechanical engineer and designer turned self-taught machinist and watchmaker, Ian Schon. Ian is in love with watches and the craft of horology. He also makes and sells a beautiful collection of pens, but really for him, the drive is much more basic: It’s about making. Full stop. He feeds off the challenge of machining complex parts and designing objects that reflect his love of craft, as well as stand the test of time. We visited Ian in his shop in Allston, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston.
SHOW NOTES
- Schon DSGN (Ian’s pens) Schon Horology (Ian’s watches)
- Ian previously worked at IDEO and Essential Design
- Schon Horology on Instagram and Ian’s recent work making crystalline titanium cases.
- Miters Hackerspace where Ian first got into machining
- Nick Manousous is the president of the Horological Society of NY, founded in 1866!
A day in Ian's Studio
ABOUT IAN SCHON
Ian Schon is a Boston-based product designer and entrepreneur. He started his career as a mechanical engineer at Essential Design and continued on to become a product designer at IDEO Cambridge. Currently, he’s pursuing his passion for horology (the art and science of timekeeping) with Schon Horology and running his pen company, Schon DSGN.