BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
With 40 years in business, it’s about time for It’s About Time owner Cliff Hammond to close up his clock shop.
“I’ve enjoyed it. I never made a lot of money, but I enjoy clocks and the people, with some minor exceptions,” said Hammond, 81. “Things have changed, the people, the economy. I’m getting old. The trouble is, I continue getting older.”
He started out part time in 1977 in Bloomfield Hills, and then went full time in 1979. In 1981, he opened another shop at the Clarkston Mills and ran two shops until 1984. In 1990, he moved his shop from the Clarkston Mills to 7151 N. Main Street, where he remained until now.
He downsized in 2011 from a store with display room and repair shop, to just a repair shop, still at 7151 N. Main. His last day will be Oct. 28. He plans to continue house calls on grandfather clocks, he said.
“I’ll spend more time with my wife (Pat),” he said. “She retired 22 years ago. I’ve shortchanged her for 22 years.”
He worked as a salesman, manager, and “general flunkie,” before getting into clocks, which started as a hobby.
“I was diagnosed with an ulcer. My doctor asked me, ‘what’s eating you?’” he said. “I made my hobby my business, and my stomach hasn’t hurt since.”
His biggest interest is the movement of the parts, how they fit and work together, along with the artistry and craftsmanship.
“Business was very strong in the 70s. My best year was 1987 – we sold about 340 grandfather clocks that year,” he said.
The year 2009 was a wakeup call, he remembered.
“We sold three,” he said. “People are interested in different things. Clocks are very easily postponed.”
Costs have also gone up. In 1983, the average cost of a grandfather clock was about $800, and in 2009, the average was nearly $3,000.
“They’re not for telling time, they’re for the pleasure of it. They’re comforting. They give a heartbeat and a voice to a home,” he said. “The heartbeat is the ticking, and the voice is the chime.”
He and his wife, who coined the name for It’s About Time, have two children and two grandchildren, and live in Livonia. He still has about 40 clocks in his personal collection, down from about 100.
“The number has varied over the years,” he said.