Scan Magazine | Design Profile | Nunc
Timeless pieces remind us to be present You would be forgiven for thinking that Nunc’s beautiful armbands are watches. Look closer, however, and you will notice that they are missing the face and hands by which watches mark the passing of time. “People always do a double take when they notice,” says co-founder Michael Pedretti. “It’s a great way to start a conversation and make both yourself and others pause and think for a minute in the midst of our busy lives.”
up in the continual, harmful race of news updates, work developments and social media posts that are part of our world today,” Pedretti reflects. “It’s easy to forget to look up, and to enjoy and connect with the world and people around us.”
By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: Daniel Bülling
Pedretti realised just how addicted he was becoming to the buzz of updates and notifications during a conference stay in Copenhagen. “The hotel had these rather cool plastic key bands in the shape of a circle. I took off my watch and wore the key instead to keep it on me, and that evening, I really noticed the ridiculous amount of times I glanced at my wrist and became distracted from the conversations going on around me.” There was, he thought, a significant reflection on the modern world in that act. “I kept checking the time, but in doing that, I let time, the present, pass me by.”
There is something disconcerting about being confronted by a faceless, timeless watch. The founders themselves are unsure of what to call it — it is not, evidently, a watch, and as much a philosophical statement as a decorative bracelet. The point is not to remove the wearer from the modern, technological world, but rather to remind them that there are other things to life as well. “We want people to embrace the present moment and reconnect with their surroundings — their city, nature, family and friends; to find a 14 | Issue 115 | August 2018
sense of wholeness in being here, now, and to recognise the perfection of each and every moment,” Pedretti explains.
The problems of working around the clock As a management consultant, Pedretti was married to his smart watch, constantly checking the time and his notifications and, like many other young professionals, at an increasingly frequent rate each month. “For a lot of people today, I think it’s really easy to get too caught