Neil Ferrier, who owns the Greenville design firm Discommon, felt inspired when he saw that there were no elevated kids’ watches on the market. “Everything was very bubble gum, pink princesses, or Batman, and made with cheap materials,” says the father of two. He took on the challenge of creating a “proper” watch for kids, with lasting, eco-friendly materials, quality construction, colorful-yet-sophisticated design, and an innovative educational component.
The name Blok stems from this feature: the watch face is split into four-time intervals or bloks, and kids can rotate the bezel—the ring around the watch face—until it clicks, starting a simple timer.
“We joke that it’s the death of ‘Are we there yet?’” Ferrier says.
As CEO of Blok, Ferrier collaborated with two key partners, including Oliver Fowles, director of product, who has extensive experience in watchmaking, and James Walker Jr., a cofounder with a background in global investment. The watches, dubbed Blok 33, are Swiss-made, with quartz movement, sapphire glass, and a bio-polymer case, in color combinations like jet black/sand and aqua/teal. Best of all, “It’s not digital,” he says. “It’s a purposeful, well-designed watch.”
$179, available at blokwatches.com.
Photography by Paul Mehaffey
