Time and tide wait for no recession.
Richard Hansen, owner of The Cuckoo Nest in Maybrook, has enough work repairing and restoring clocks that he can stay busy indefinitely.
“I”™ve got enough work to keep me busy for the next six months ”“ even if another customer doesn”™t come through the door,” said Hansen. “But don”™t get me wrong Customers are always welcome, too!”
The Cuckoo Nest offers a unique collection of clocks, some Hansen has found at auction or purchased privately. “Once in a while, someone will walk in with a clock they just want to sell; they don”™t have any use for it.”
Prior to opening his clock repair and restoration shop, he spent his career in California”™s Silicon Valley as an electrical engineer. When his parents got older and needed more help at home, Hansen relocated back to Goshen. “Dad kept me busy. He had a collection of 800 clocks of all shapes and sizes. He didn”™t believe in banks, so he invested in clocks.”
Hansen enjoyed keeping his father”™s collection in working order, but had plenty of time on his hands and was nowhere near ready to retire. “I started weighing my options, and I decided the best business for me would be in the clock restoration and repair business, since there didn”™t seem to be anyone else around doing that kind of work.”
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He found a store on Route 208 “that had great visibility,” said Hansen. “You can”™t miss The Cuckoo Nest if you are driving by. When I bought this place over a decade ago, there might have been 400 cars passing the entire day. Now there are more than a thousand.”
Hansen has an eclectic assortment of clocks ”“ from a replica of a 1950s-era Felix the Cat kitchen clock, complete with moving eyes and tail, to more sophisticated time pieces. Of course, The Cuckoo Nest would not be complete without an array of cuckoo clocks, from the simple to the ornate.
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One gem he prizes is a replica of Amour & Psyche by Canova. “The original is in the Louvre,” said Hansen. “I asked my brother to shop around and see if he could find one for me while he was in Europe. I was very fortunate that he was able to locate one.” Amour & Psyche have some other unusual companions surrounding them in The Cuckoo Nest.
“I”™ve repaired nearly 3,000 clocks since I opened,” said Hansen. “Some need pieces that are easy to locate. Others need a piece that can”™t be found anymore ”“ that”™s where I can utilize my skill as an engineer and create the missing part.”
Hansen, whose wares include clocks that date back to the 19th century, has also gotten involved with 21st-century technology. “We knew we needed to have a web presence,” said Hansen. “People know my store if they pass it, but today everything seems to be done on the Internet. Now, we can be found at thecuckoonest.com. I think it will help bring awareness to people in the region that there is a place to bring their clock for fixing.”
Hansen offers a haven for people with a beautiful timepiece in need of restoration. “If someone sees a clock and falls in love with it, but it”™s not in good condition or is missing pieces, that”™s where an experienced clock repair person comes in. I think my profession is a very specialized one. Most things today are disposable, so people don”™t bother to try to repair anything anymore. They”™ll just throw it away and buy another.”
Not so with the clocks Hansen fixes. “They are truly beautiful works of art.”
Has the economy been kind to the clock repair and restoration industry? “Yes, I would say work has been steady ”“ not so much in sales, but people are coming in to repair clocks they own or they”™ll find one at auction or at a yard sale, but the piece doesn”™t work. They want to have it fixed, and that”™s where I come in.
“I do enjoy what I do. I am not sure if the art is dying, but I know it”™s difficult to find experienced craftsmen. We live in a disposable society, but some things are so beautiful, they are really ”“ no pun intended ”“ timeless.”
