If you have already met the Fail family in Loyola University Chicago’s production of Failure: A Love Story, then you know that they make their money in a unique line of work that has been in their family for generations: clockworking. While the Fails may know a thing or two about the history of their trade, many others may not. Clockmakers first became a necessity around the year 1300. Their jobs only became more in demand, as their work was deemed the most technically advanced of the time in the 15th to 17th centuries. Guilds all around Europe were created specifically for clockmaking, with the first being the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London, England. In those years, clockmakers were often inventors as well, creating items such as the harmonica in the early 1800s. It was not until the late 19th century that the job of clockworkers took a significant turn. 

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Factories were able to produce clocks beginning in the 20th century, leaving the clockmakers necessary only when clocks required mending. Thus, the clockmaker was no more, and the clockworker took over. Watch repair served as a separate field for many decades, as working on watches required a different skillset. Now, most clockworkers include watch-repairing among their numerous capabilities. To this day, clock repair shops can be found all over the planet. If you stroll into the Newhart Family Theatre this weekend, you can discover a unique clock shop, run by the Fail family, placed on the corner of Lumber and Love in Chicago, established in 1900. Failure: A Love Story closes February 24th, so be sure to get your tickets and keep your clocks running because you certainly don’t want to be late to this production.