Returning to Harlem has been more than I could have imagined. It hasn’t been perfect, nothing ever is. Although the good has definitely outweighed the bad, on challenging experience is connected to how I started The Harlem Watch Company. While cycling to Central Park on the first day of July 2020 I was hit by a car.
After a great deal of pain followed by two surgeries, bed rest, and physical therapy, I am blessed to be back on my bike and back to my pre-accident pace. All in all, I wouldn’t change a thing from my path. My treatment plan limited my mobility and I promised my family, to their surprise and disbelief, that I would stay still. I think during that time, everything just clicked. I was back in Harlem, around my family and those that I love. My overall pace even before the accident was significantly slower simply due to COVID circumstances, and I was motivated but not stressed. I’d like to think that it was a recipe for the creativity that started to surface. Usually, when I am in motion and getting things done, I am very much focused on creating practical solutions. I enjoy solving problems, it’s usually how I express my creativity. This time was different, my mind kept returning to watches. Maybe it was because I had so much time on my hands and was taking the time to really think about something I’d always enjoyed and wanted to explore. It was clear to me that I wanted to create watches and as I thought about it more, I wanted my family, my hometown, their history, and watches to be connected. That’s essentially how the concept of the Harlem Watch Company began to form. It felt like I was moving slow, but looking back my excitement really propelled me forward. Between November of 2020 and March of 2021, I had designed our first collection of luxury timepieces and launched our first Kickstarter Campaign. We’re just into June and we had a presale and our formal launch on May 10, 2021. I am excited about how things are coming together and what’s ahead.
Right now I am focused on continuing to recover and continuing to build the Harlem Watch Company brand. The family and I are enjoying having Sunday dinner at mom’s again, catching the Subway together, visiting parks, visiting various parts of the city and state, as well as going to the places that my parents took me and my brothers when we were kids, it has been exciting for the family and a pleasure for me. To be back in Harlem, to call it home again, and share my family/relatives, memories, and my hometown with my wife and little ones has been rewarding in more ways than I could have imagined.
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