A GRADUATE is fulfilling his father’s dying wish by starting a business making watches out of vintage whisky barrels.
Michael Youmans, 28, started making the unique heritage watches after his father asked him to study a Masters in product design.
All the watches are made by Michael, who creates the accessories completely by hand, and are inspired by the natural beauty of Scotland.
Material for the watches are sourced from around the country, with the straps made from Harris Tweed and Scottish leather, and the faces from vintage reclaimed whisky barrels.
Mr Youmans, from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, said his father, who loved watches, would be proud of the touching venture.
He said: “My dad died of cancer in 2015 and it was him who encouraged me to do a Masters. He loved watches, it was his thing and he always gave them to me as presents.
“I think he’d be proud. He was an engineer and was always interested in how stuff works and I love making things because of him. It’s nice to be able to do this for him”.
Each watch comes in different colour shades and grains due to the nature of the whisky barrels.
Mr Youmans named the venture Fiodh, Gaelic for wood.
He also hopes to make watches out of materials such as driftwood collected from different Scottish lochs.
He said: “I want people to wear something that tells a story and has a bit of Scottish history in it.
“You could be wearing a watch from a barrel that has sat in a distillery holding whisky for years and that’s been a part of Scotland’s heritage”.
The designer had never made a watch before he started the business but was fascinated by how they work.
Mr Youmans, who graduated from the University of Strathclyde in 2016, said: “I had just graduated and I was struggling looking for a job. A lot of my friends were stuck in jobs they didn’t want.
“But I’ve always wanted to be a designer.
“I bought a watch and took it a part then started sketching my ideas with pen and paper.”
He decided to buy a large barrel that held Invergordon whisky dated from 1987 and started making watch faces from it.
He said: “People are so intrigued by the idea and think it’s something completely different”.
Mr Youmans said he has a love for all things Scottish.
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