Watches and Coffee; St. Louis, M.O.
Today we are going to talk watches. Random, right? But when fellow coffee addict, Ben Black from JordWatches, based out of St. Louis, M.O. approached me about his product, I was hesitant because who needs another object to worry about losing. (I am no longer responsible for RayBans.) But then after sifting through their site, I began to fall in love with how dang unique these watches are.
Photo taken at Common Room Roasters
"[I am] the resident office barista," he says. "I've effectively put the Keurig out of business and am proud of it." He also is an artist, cyclist and rock climber but found a passion for watches long ago.
Read his story below, but first here are some St. Louis coffee shop recommendations from the "office barista" himself!
Top coffee shops in St. Louis per Ben Black:
1. Blueprint Coffee
2. Sump Coffee
3. Northwest Coffee
4. Comet Coffee
5. Park Ave Coffee
6. Rise Coffee
7. Shaw's Coffee
8. Kaldi's Coffee
9. Cafe Ventana
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself: Where are you from? And where did your interest in watches come from?
A: My interest in wooden watches came from always loving watches, and also working in construction with my father for about 7 years back in California. I also have skills in marketing that I've honed in college and especially in the past 3 years, so it was a very natural fit to work with wood watches, haha.
Q: What inspired you to create wooden watches rather than traditional ones?
A: About 5 years ago, one of the owners came across another wooden watch, and liked the idea, but not the quality, and since his father is a watch collector, he and his two other brothers decided that they could do it better. Fast forward to now, we're one of the best wooden watch companies in the world!
Q: What is your favorite part about your watches?
A: My favorite part about wooden watches is how they change over time. Wood has so much more character than metal, and as you wear the watch, it deepens in color and develops a shine that makes it quite beautiful to look at and feel on your wrist.
Q: If you are a coffee addict, how do you take your coffee?
A: Definitely love my coffee -- not addicted, though, can and have gone weeks/months without it. How I take my coffee depends on the brewing method, if it's your typical drip, I take cream, if it's pour-over, aero, or french press, I take it black.