I commenced my working life at fifteen as an apprentice watchmaker, which disappointed my father somewhat, as he was a burly woodsman who anticipated my following him and considered watchmaking a job for 'pansies'! Eventually, three situations led me into trug making:
Firstly, some bright spark invented the digital watch, forcing many watchmakers to reconsider their future, as eventually one could buy 10 digital watches for the price of a service to a mechanical watch, and to be truthful, they were infinitely better timekeepers!
Secondly, my father died when I was 17, and as my mother died four years earlier, I entered the world of bedsit-land on an impossible apprentice wage of £4 10 shillings (not an hour – per week!!), listening to Leonard Cohen (music to cut your wrists by!!).
Thirdly, as I felt an underlying obligation to be working in wood as my father had wished, so, to cut the proverbial long story short, I became a trainee trugmaker and learnt the trade.
Firstly, some bright spark invented the digital watch, forcing many watchmakers to reconsider their future, as eventually one could buy 10 digital watches for the price of a service to a mechanical watch, and to be truthful, they were infinitely better timekeepers!
Secondly, my father died when I was 17, and as my mother died four years earlier, I entered the world of bedsit-land on an impossible apprentice wage of £4 10 shillings (not an hour – per week!!), listening to Leonard Cohen (music to cut your wrists by!!).
Thirdly, as I felt an underlying obligation to be working in wood as my father had wished, so, to cut the proverbial long story short, I became a trainee trugmaker and learnt the trade.
Eventually, the trug business closed due to the owner retiring, so I took up carpentry and spent numerous years building log cabins all over the UK (Dad would have been proud of me!). Whilst this was very rewarding, enabling me to see the most beautiful parts of this country (and others). I was travelling an average of 2,000 miles per week and on various sites for 45+ hours per week, or, if the site was in excess of 2½ driving hours, we would stay in accommodation.
During the many periods away from home, I spent many evening hours in B&Bs & hotels. I used much of this time making notes to be converted into a manuscript when at home for a book, later to be entitled 'How To Solve Cryptic Crosswords'. A publisher (Eliot Right Way) that I submitted my manuscript to liked it, published it, and has since sold close to a million copies. Sadly, if you google Kevin Skinner, you either get an American folk singer or me coming up as an author, not a trugmaker! But still available in bookshops and on Amazon.
While working in Inverness, during breakfast in a hotel, a resident entered the room with her little daughter, who was so like one of my daughters, Stevie, and as I missed Stevie and Lori so much, I decided there and then that I could not continue all this time away from them. With the growing popularity of the internet, and my hobby of designing websites, this presented an opportunity of selling trugs to the nation, rather than just local people, as it was years ago when I was making them. So, I found a workshop in my hometown of Hailsham and returned to what I enjoyed most, trug making, and now saw my family daily. So that's what I did – and here I am. I look forward to Monday mornings and the day, going to work and doing what I love. The icing on the cake is all the lovely feedback we receive, far too many to include in my feedback page here, but every one is valued and appreciated. Thank you all.
I am frequently asked by customers, "Why are your trugs so much cheaper than others?" That's easy to answer! Firstly, I enjoy working hard, looking forward to every day. I employ no-one, so no commitment to cover their wages. It also avoids training them in the art of trug making, only for them to leave and become competition as a rival business. Secondly, I refuse to supply the trade, as they expect a 50% discount, and eventually pay their bill the next time Haley's comet reappears. This also means I don't have to inflate my retail prices to allow for their trade discount, so I'm able to offer my customers a fair price.
I go to work when I wake and go home if I'm tired. If it's a sunny day, I can just shut the workshop and sit on my decking at home with a glass (or two) with Jaqui PhD (Packing and handling Dept.) with no apprentice to worry about.
I go to work when I wake and go home if I'm tired. If it's a sunny day, I can just shut the workshop and sit on my decking at home with a glass (or two) with Jaqui PhD (Packing and handling Dept.) with no apprentice to worry about.
Me 1970
Me 2025
History-The making of a Trugmaker
Finally, I believe those that sell at higher prices sell fewer numbers; I'd rather be busy – that's what I like. So there we are, and here I am.
