ABOUT US
We make things we’re proud to put our name on and work with people who inspire us. That’s it.
"I grew up loving heavy music, action sports and the people who lived for both. The best way to earn an invite into that world was to make something worth bringing in. In many ways that’s still what this is.” - Shane Vitaly
THE ORIGIN STORY
Shane Vitaly had been studying in Toronto when he scraped together some cash, accepted flights as a graduation gift from his Mom, flew to Bali, and started working with craftspeople in Ubud. He sketched a two-finger ring on a napkin, sent his last $3,000 to a factory, came home with a bag of rings, and watched his friends ask where they could buy them. That turned into his first brand, and within a year Jason Readman had joined. In 2013, he and Jason founded Clocks and Colours in Toronto, bootstrapped on earnings from those first few years. Shane’s goal from day one was to build around the music and the culture he had actually grown up with.
THE PRODUCT
The designs draw from and mash up rock and roll, motorcycle culture, tattoo culture, old-world gothic, and a lot of other places that don’t always get mentioned in the same sentence. Shane has never been interested in keeping those worlds separate. Rock and roll jewellery has a tendency toward the homogenous and that gets old. The work at Clocks and Colours modernises real references without cosplaying it, and brings in energy from places the genre doesn’t always look. The jewellery is cast in stainless steel and sterling silver, because craft and accessibility aren’t opposites and this brand has never treated them as such. And it isn't only jewellery anymore. Fragrance, apparel and eyewear are part of the same story.
THE COLLABORATIONS
The collaborations have always worked the same way. Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Cannibal Corpse, Killswitch Engage, August Burns Red, Davey Havok, JJ Julius Son of KALEO, Fender, Zildjian, Peter McKinnon. These are bands and people that shaped the culture the brand came from. In some cases they’re people that shaped Shane personally. Whether the project is a licensing deal or a full creative collaboration, every piece is built with the same care as anything else in the catalogue.
THE FLAGSHIP
The flagship at 154 Ossington in Toronto is where the brand exists physically. Ossington was the street Shane and his friends spent their twenties and thirties on. It’s probably one of the best streets in the world if you ask around. The shop is blacked out and deliberately minimal, with sound treatment throughout so it can host small shows.
