I have an old, 1970's era mechanical watch that I've been trying to repair recently.
I called around a couple of stores in the area (Boston) and many of the clock/watch shops have backlogs anywhere from 8 weeks to 8 months. They were all basically family-run (old husband/wife couples) and most said they were struggling to keep up with demand and that there were simply no young men entering the business.
The one guy who had an apprentice later clarified that his apprentice had been working for him for 20 years!
I wonder how/if tech might be applied to these craft-heavy markets to make things more efficient.
I called around a couple of stores in the area (Boston) and many of the clock/watch shops have backlogs anywhere from 8 weeks to 8 months. They were all basically family-run (old husband/wife couples) and most said they were struggling to keep up with demand and that there were simply no young men entering the business.
The one guy who had an apprentice later clarified that his apprentice had been working for him for 20 years!
I wonder how/if tech might be applied to these craft-heavy markets to make things more efficient.