Profile
@erinsedc
When we look at the global watch community, on Instagram, through in-person meetings at watch gatherings and events, YouTube as well, we often see that enthusiasts and collectors, wherever they come from, whatever they do professionally, often have a co-passion that goes alongside horology and that other something is rather specific. At first, what links these two passions is not self-evident even though many of us do dabble into other hobbies that are similar, and one might believe initially that this is pure coincidence. However it is not. For instance, many (mostly) male members of the community are into vintage sports cars—and from specific manufacturers, for example Porsche and MG—or older 4x4s—the target being the Land Rover Defender—, vacationing in specific locations—Italy’s Amalfi Coast, some kind of tropical island or exotic destination—, photographing with a Leica (and the exact same lenses,) wearing specific types of clothes from specific brands—A.P.C., a blue denim shirt paired with a white t-shirt, and obviously a patterned neckerchief—as well as, and as it is of interest to us today, EDC.
However, with a few exceptions, all of the aforementioned and stereotypical co-hobbies that co-exist with horology are indeed mostly lived by male. If you’re a dude into horology and don’t wear a khaki painter’s jacket paired with dressy leather boots and carry a Leica Q2 around the neck attached to a lanyard, you’re a has-been or a never-was. Similarly, if you don’t live in specific cities, work certain jobs, and wear the same watches everybody wears—a birthyear Omega Speedmaster, a no-date Rolex Submariner, a Rolex Explorer II Polar Dial, an Omega Seamaster, or a Jaeger-Lecoultre Reverso—then you cannot drive that Porsche, sip on a Negroni at a terrace in Amalfi, and become a member of the GPHG. These stereotypes are actually not stereotypical but true, and fighting them is a mission embedded in the series Women in Horology because members of the superior gender who are part of our global watch community do not generally follow in the same aforementioned footsteps, and their stories are much more interesting for they are unconventional. Which is why I have the honor of sharing @erinsedc’ story today.
Watches As Part of EDC
Being into EDC—Everday Carry items—has become a trend, a natural way of living, a study of what is essential, and a particular way of expressing one’s personality. We humans have been into EDC since the dawn of time actually even though we never saw our habit of carrying essential items on a daily basis as being a thing. If you've ever heard about the fascinating discovery of Ötzi The Iceman, whose naturally mummified body was discovered in 1991 more than four millennia after his passing, you’ll understand what this is all about: in his skin satchel he carried essential items to his survival in the cold Alpine winters—a copper axe, arrowheads, a dagger, a sharpening tool, berries, birch bark baskets, and medicinal mushrooms—whose modern equivalent for those of us living in first-world countries would be a lighter, a knife, essential medicine for these off-chance situations, and of course a smartphone, housekeys, wallet and a watch. The latter item is what interests us the most as Erin wears one on a daily basis alongside other items whose nature and relevance have changed over the years in her EDC set.
As she pointed, Erin came to watches mostly through the EDC lens even though she wore watches when she was younger. She has fond memories of a Baby G her parents gifted her when she was little, as she found reading the time on a digital LCD screen easier than with hands and markers. This first experience got her interested in horology, although mildly, and after wearing a few fashion watches and a few Timex Expeditions in her teens, Erin bought her first proper watch in her 20s—a Seiko 5 which marked her entry into the fascinating world of mechanical timepieces. The Seiko 5 came with a see-through case-back which made it possible for her to glance at the movement powering her new watch, a piece she wore for many years and on many adventures until she decided to gift it to a friend of hers. That Seiko 5, at some point in her young life, constituted one of the two items as part of her EDC alongside a Swiss Army Knife, which were the subjects of one of Erin’s early posts on Instagram when she got onto the social media platform in 2018. As she recalls, she most likely really got into horology through YouTube.
Each interview for these profile stories, whether they pertain to female watch enthusiasts, content creators, and industry professionals or not, always begin with a simple question: How did you get into horology? More often than not, the answer is through a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, bestfriend, boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse. Or the article’s protagonist was gifted a special mechanical watch to mark a personal milestone, remembers a relative spinning the crown to wind a mechanical movement on a cold winter morning, or was taken to a watch boutique to purchase a first timepiece. Erin, even though she was gifted a Baby G and bought herself a Seiko 5, didn’t describe her arrival into the hobby as most people do—as we know, she came through it mostly through the lense of EDC as watches never were stand-alone objects through which she could express her personality or accessorize outfits, but rather as an integral part of the items she wears on a daily basis regardless of what she does, wherever she goes, and whomever she is with. People often say they feel naked without a watch, Erin would without her EDC.
What drove Erin to become so passionate about Everyday Carry items is the fact that she can personalize—customize—regular objects people carry with them on a daily basis. Instead of mindlessly grabbing whatever notebook from a department store, a commonplace flashlight, or a non-descript knife (objects many people do like to carry with them on a regular basis,) she can pick and choose those which speak to her with the most intensity, each holding the power to tell a bit of her story, and all together giving anyone a certain understanding of who she is. Handmade leather wallets, leather pouches to carry her favorite EDC items, compact field note books to keep track of tasks and thoughts, and of course a knife and, as we will see later, a camera. Erin’s EDC remains simple, focused on the essential, and she has paired it down over the years as she has become more and more interested in minimalism, and concurrently, as she became purposeful in ensuring that every object she owns has a clear purpose and has no duplicate in her house—with the self-evident exception of timepieces as we will further see later on.
Being Purposeful Through Minimalism
Minimalism is another trend we’ve seen develop over the past couple of decades, some folks earning more than a decent living teaching others how to become minimalists. And minimalism can be many things at once: in design and architecture it is the philosophy of having as few ornaments as possible, clean lines, simple shapes, empty spaces with a few pieces of furniture inside, barebone color schemes, and natural materials. But minimalism is also a practical way of living which dictates that we should own the most essential of items, avoid the superfluous as much as possible, which comes with the benefit of having to worry about fewer items and the piece-of-mind of knowing that all of what we have is essential. In her day-to-day life, Erin keeps things simple and to a bare minimum—one good pair of Blundstone leather boots she wears to the ground; a couple of each of her favorite EDC items; one leather purse for all occasions; one pair of sunglasses for all scenarios as well. Although she is a devout minimalist, she admitted that this life philosophy is harder to apply to what she collects—watches essentially.
However, one quick look at her current watch collection of eight timepieces will show that Erin does manage to transfer her core philosophy to one of her greatest passions—horology. She doesn’t own two watches that look the same, she is mostly attracted to timekeeping devices that have simple dial layouts, and all the watches she owns—with the exception of a vintage Seiko—are robust tool watches she can wear regardless of what she does because they are practical, dependable, and purpose-driven. Even though one might falsely connect minimalism with being cheap—because if a person doesn’t like to have too much stuff then that person must be hoarding his or her dineros—genuine minimalism is actually the opposite: for one pair of boots to suffice for everyday living, Erin is ready to dish out more money on a single good pair of Chelsea’s instead of acquiring five lesser quality ones for the same total sum of money. Similarly then, even though Erin does not own just one watch—a quest the most dedicated of watch enthusiasts will never achieve—she’s deliberate as to which watches she owns and wears on a daily basis.
The Meaning of Watches
During the interview, Erin was wearing an RZE UTD-8000-CKG, the best and coolest titanium digital watch ever made by a microbrand, which is her go-to timepiece for when she’s lazying around the house (her words, not mine) as it is a no no-sense one she can pick-up whenever and which comes with the benefit of displaying the most essential of information and a little more: the time, date, day of the month, month of the year, year, alarm, and a timer she uses to time all sorts of things with. She can also wear the UTD at work for it can handle the rough environments of her professional life (more on that later,) so can the other watches inhabiting her watch box: a recently acquired Marathon GSAR in 36mm, which is her first dive watch, and as you probably know, a tough and ultra-legible one which displays a dial more traditionally found on field watches. Alongside which we can find a Traska Commuter 34, a now fan-favorite solid all-scenario sports watch, a Hamilton Murph in 38mm, Watchdives homages of theTudor Ranger, as well as a purple RZE UTD-8000 she doesn’t wear often as it doesn’t match most of her outfits.
This is then what you will find in Erin’s collection and what explains the special meaning watches hold for her: just like everything she owns has to have a purpose, and none of what she has can get a chance to collect dust, all of her watches are purpose-driven time-telling elements she can indiscriminately wear whatever she does: running errands, working, taking a stroll in a nearby forest to take some photos, or simply resting at home on her days off. Therefore, unlike most enthusiasts and collectors, Erin doesn’t attribute special meanings to specific watches because all of the watches she owns can be worn in any situation—special ones and non special ones. Erin, as she shared, lives a relatively simple life which focuses around work, being at home, going on walks, her pets, and taking photos. She doesn’t live a fast-paced life in an urban jungle, and she has a keen talent for not keeping herself overly busy running around like many people do—globally speaking and within the watch community. Which is something she loves about wearing analog watches: they force her to slow down and get back to the basics.
Her personal horological philosophy, and the meaning watches have for her, can be best exemplified by the following fact: Erin wears her watches above a Lord of the Rings Elvish tattoo that says All we have is to decide what to do with the time that is given to us, which is a reminder that time is fleeting and that she has to make the most of it. And the way in which all of this can be seen in how Erin lives her life—in addition to slowing down as mentioned above—is the fact that she prides herself of being a punctual person and to always arrive a little early to appointments, something she guarantees by focusing on the essential tasks by way of a legible timepiece. The additional beauty of horology for Erin lies in the fact that, through analog timekeeping devices, she’s able to anchor herself into the present moment—she indicated that since we have easy access to everything now, and that we live in a fast-paced environment regardless where on the globe we are thanks to the internet and social media, looking down at her wrist to see the time is all she needs to plant her feet down into the tangible now.
A Real Life, A Real Career
As we saw, Erin isn’t your typical watch collector: she doesn’t own many watches, none of her watches are the same, but all are connected to one another through her core life philosophy: owning what is essential and serves a clear purpose; having enough of the essential and none of the superfluous; living a purposeful life through meaningful action;, and being true to oneself. It won’t therefore come as a surprise to you to learn that she doesn’t live in a popular metropolis, for in fact she lives in a relatively quiet town in Ontario; that she doesn’t fill up her schedule with social appointments, visits the latest trendy restaurants, and doesn’t rush to get onboard with the latest fashion trends—just like her watches, her wardrobe is infused with a minimalist approach where she owns a few of the most essential items and run them through the ground before buying new ones. Similarly still, you won’t spot Erin strolling on the French Riviera, in the paddocks of F1 races all around the world, sipping Negronis at terrasses on the Amalfi coast, or cruising the Canadian backroads in a vintage Porsche Carrera 911.
Nope, not at all, and quite the contrary. When her and I discussed her love and passion for EDC which, as you remember, is what truly brought her to horology, she indicated that it was the visual artist in her that became fascinated by EDC as she could personalize everyday items she likes to have on her person in the house and when stepping out of it. So I was curious to know about her background and what she does now when she’s not being mindfully in the moment or photographing her watches and EDC for the Gram: she studied to become a singer but quickly realized that she had to grow up and get back to reality to get a real job to pay her bills. She didn’t’ want to teach music so she decided to work for a Chrysler assembly plant in Ontario where she builds minivans and sports cars, repeating the same tasks 400 times a day—an actual job that brings her a steady pay, essential benefits, and for which she has the right timepieces: legible, fly-under-the-radar, and robust tool watches which can handle the rough and super hot (in the summer) working environment of an assembly plant working with complex machines.
Her steady real-life job also comes with one key additional perk: it supports her EDC, watch collecting, and passion for photography.
Pausing With Photography
Erin’s story wouldn't be complete should we not discuss her excellent and authentic photography. For I, and 12 thousands of you as well, came to know her through her Instagram account in which she shares warm, artistic, and genuine photos of her EDC which evidently includes her watches, as well as of her pets and quiet, albeit real, life in Ontario. She got into this artistic domain at age 16 when her parents gifted her a Pentax camera after that she took a photography class in high school and aced it, and she quickly got into the habit of capturing meaningful moments and life’s smallest of details through her new camera. Akin to checking the time looking down at her favorite tool watches, Erin strives in photography’s inherent capacity to make her slow down, to take in the present moment, and freeze in time something that caught her sole attention. She often goes to nearby forests with her camera and watches to decompress, a practice she has found to be very therapeutic, and the camera she uses is a Fuji X100-6, not a Leica Q2 Dear Lord—whose analog construction and simplicity perfectly matches who she is.
And since Erin likes to keep everything she does simple and purposeful, she adores the ease-of-use of the X100-6, the built-in film simulations which permit her to quickly endow her photos with the right tone and feeling, as she wouldn’t want to waste precious time editing shots using a professional photo editor (which is what Leica owners, vintage Porsche drivers, and Amalfi coast jet-setters stereotypically do) and instead works on them directly from her smartphone. (This is also my workflow.) The goal of photography for Erin therefore is to take a simple approach to an artistic outlet which brings her tremendous personal and emotional benefits, and remind her each time she goes out to shoot, that life is better lived out slowly.
Conclusion
Erin’s story had to be told for so many reasons. First, because her authentic, slow-paced photographic style is ever so charming and reminds me, each time I discover a new post of hers, that whatever we are into, whatever we do, wherever we are, and whomever we are with, that we ought to do the natural thing that is an integral part of us being human beings: to keep things simple and authentic. Second, because many of the profiles I’ve written thus far on Mainspring, whether about male or female enthusiasts, content creators, or professionals, often times, in one way or another, are about people who lived a remarkable life, or had highly Instagramable experiences, or experienced fame to some degree or another, or traveled the world multiple times over, or have showed their faces as many times as humanely possible. Don’t get me wrong, I had the utmost pleasure writing these stories as I am a big fan of every single one of these people, however, Erin always came across to me as being more human than most, in the sense that she can concurrently be authentic and discreet, superbly creative and humble, and unwillingly hook us into her simple yet real world in ways most others can’t.
Lastly, something else you wouldn’t be surprised to learn is that Erin’s camera has become an integral part of her EDC and that she only owns one because that is enough. Just like she owns the essentials of most things in life, as few watches as she realistically can (she recently sold many that were collecting dust,) as few clothes she needs, and to keep her other EDC items as purpose-driven as possible. You can find out more about Erin and her life philosophy by checking out her Instagram profile and giving her a follow.
Thanks for reading.