Today’s interview provides a perfect example that ‘doing what you love’ doesn’t just happen. You have to be willing to make changes in your life and have the conviction to chase and fulfil your dreams, even if things don’t go right first time.
Brothers Iain and Gray Moncrieff have been on a rollercoaster these past few years with major highs and lows, but they have not let life’s obstacles and disappointments stand in their way.
Former professional musicians, they scored a top record deal with Sony and had a dream of superstardom, but the rug was pulled out from under them just as they were on the brink of major fame. Whereas many people would have just given up at that point, Gary and Iain crafted a new dream, which is now starting to flourish after hours of blood, sweat and tears.
The brothers now run a hand crafted clock business (EG Clocks) which they absolutely love. They make clocks from various hardwoods and slate which allows them to be creative and artistic in their job, as well as bringing people pleasure through their beautiful products.
Gray and Iain
1. How are you leading a life ‘doing what you love’?
We work together very close to home doing something that we really enjoy doing. It’s amazing and we love it!
Burr Mantle clock
2. What did you do before this?
We both dreamed of being rock stars when we were young and our first full time job was when we were offered a record deal with a major label just after we started university… so I suppose really we started our working lives doing what we love.
We instantly left our courses and signed the deal. We released an album and singles in England and Japan and toured for four years. We recorded at some of the best studios in the world and played massive gigs to thousands of people (and small gigs to about 4 people!) It was an amazing time in both our lives, but one day it all disappeared. The day it fell through and we had to get “normal jobs” was a very difficult one to accept.
At the time we were trying to secure another deal and so we ended up in jobs we didn’t enjoy as we had to start earning money quickly. It’s so true that you can fall into doing a job that you never had any intention of doing, or a job based on choices you made when you were young and encouraged perhaps to become an accountant just because you were quite good at maths.
Sometimes you have to stop and ask yourself if this is the life you chose, or the life that chose you. This is what happened to us after a few years of working at these jobs that we “just fell into”. Personally (Iain) I have worked as; a rock star (Ha ha!!), in sales, at an alcohol distributor, as a window fitter and as a self employed plasterer and carpenter…. it’s been a mixed bag!
3. What was your a-ha moment that pushed you to change things and realise your passion?
I realised that after the band, my CV was just a list of things that I wouldn’t really associate myself with. Although I enjoyed running my own business, I had a dream of having a workshop, working with wood, and also songwriting. One day my brother and I just started talking about it and it turned out that we both really wanted to make it happen. We decided that there was nothing stopping us from doing it… apart from us. That was the day it started and we’ve never looked back.
Sapele Dove-tail Inlay clock
4. How did you make it happen?
We had a few challenges to overcome so we wrote a list of the things we could think of that were preventing us from getting started. We just started at number one and worked our way through the list until they were all gone. There are always lots of reasons why not to do something… so we thought the best thing to do was just get rid of each of them.
5. What has been your biggest challenge along the way and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge for us initially was the weather! As we work with wood and slate there is a lot of dust involved and so we couldn’t do anything in our houses. We had to make the initial designs in my back garden through the winter months. We would set everything up only to have to dismantle it all and bring it back inside when it started raining, which stopped production over and over again!
This was overcome when we finally managed to set up our workshop ,which was a huge challenge in itself as it had no electricity and the only supply was 75 metres away. Installing armoured cable in rocky ground with one pick axe and a small shovel between us wasn’t something we enjoyed… but now when it starts raining and we’re in the workshop I think back to those days and smile!
I always think that the biggest challenge really is taking the risks that you have to take every day when you work for yourself and somehow installing an unwavering confidence in yourself and what you do.
Iain and Gray hard at work in their ‘dry’ workshop
6. What is the best advice you have received?
One New Year’s Eve my wife, Lisa, made me write a list of what I really want from life, and to send it out to into the universe as she firmly believes that ‘what you think about, you bring about’.
I have never been the type to believe in anything like that… but amazingly a lot of the things I wrote that night have happened. Maybe it subconsciously focused my mind. As I started writing I realised that it was actually really difficult to selfishly ask for exactly what YOU want. It was a really good thing to do though and it is especially good if you are one of those people who don’t think about themselves much.
More examples of their beautiful hand crafted clocks
7. What kept you awake at night before you made these changes? How about now?
Luckily I am not really a worrier. I always think your rest time is much better spent sleeping as it gives you more energy to tackle any challenges the next day. I know the question isn’t really meant that literally but even when you do what you love it can still sometimes be stressful and I think it’s very important to be able to switch off and take a break.
8. Why do you think change is important?
Without changing you can easily become stagnant. If everything stays the same, where once everything was exciting it will be boring and as a direct result you become boring. The more you change… the more you stay the same.
I feel as excited about things now as I did when I was very young and I think that it’s the changes I’ve made to my life that are responsible. I used to complain about my job all the time and do nothing about it. It definitely makes you a much more interesting person when you’re very positive about things moving forward rather than complaining and doing nothing about it. It’s actually quite easy to change, but it’s also very easy to talk yourself out of change. I’ve learnt that you just have to do it!
9. What is the biggest noticeable difference in your life since choosing this new path?
The most important thing for me has been that it feels like there are no limits anymore. I now think of new ideas with a view that they will work and that they are achievable.
10. Finally, what is key to making a big change in your life?
I think the key is not to give up. A lot of the things we needed to set up our workshop were too expensive for us to buy, so we had to learn to build what we needed ourselves. Ironically this made us learn new skills which have been incredibly useful.
My brother taught himself how to build a website and to use design programmes to get the best from our pictures. We started with a budget of zero, and at times I still wonder how we have managed to achieve what we have now. It just seems impossible but I’ve never once thought that along the way… so I suppose that everything is actually much more achievable than you might think it will be. Just never give up.
If you would like to find out more about Iain’s business you can visit his website or Facebook page. I have a feeling one of their beautiful clocks may be finding a home at DWYL HQ very soon!
GIVEAWAY!
THE PRIZE: Iain and Gray are giving away one of their beautiful and unique hand-crafted clocks to a very lucky reader.
TO ENTER: To enter, please check out the clock gallery on their website here, and come back to leave a comment under this post saying which of their clocks you most like and why. Please be sure to include your full name and country of residence in your comment.
DEADLINE: The deadline is Tuesday June 25th 20:00hrs GMT. Any comments left after this time will not be considered. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED! The winner was RACHEL LITTLEWOOD! Congratulations Rachel. We will be in touch to arrange for your clock to be delivered! We hope you love having it in your home.
SMALL PRINT: There will be one winner who will be chosen from the entries after the deadline, and announced on this blog shortly afterward. The competition is open to anyone over 18 anywhere in the world (shipping will be covered). There is no cash alternative. Our decision on the winner is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
