What is Craft Eyewear?

A Whole New World Awaits You

Craft Eyewear, or if you prefer, Craft-Made Eyewear is something old that is new again. Craft Eyewear is the result of an industry coming full-circle. Craft Eyewear is the response to the mass-produced pedestrian eyewear sold in big-box eyewear stores and doctor’s offices across the country. It’s high quality, ethically produced by people, by hand. Not in enormous factories using automation. It fits and feels special, because it is. It’s eyewear created by passionate designers and craftspeople in small studios or workshops. It’s eyewear with a soul.

Early Eyeglasses

The first eyewear made, dating back to the 13th century, was made one at a time. It wasn’t until the invention of the printing press and the first newspapers that corrective eyewear became even close to commonplace. As manufacturers set up shop to produce in larger volume, eyewear manufacturing became what one might refer to as a cottage industry. Small workshops produced small numbers of well-made eyeglasses using lots of hand craftsmanship.

Early Silver

Two hundred years ago, eyeglasses were mostly made one-at-a time by skilled craftsmen such as jewelers and silversmiths. In larger cities they plied their trade in small shops while others became wagon vendors, visiting the various small towns across the countryside.

Mass Production

In 1826, American Optical became the first American manufacturer of production eyewear and in retrospect, they, as many of their competitors, followed a similar path that led to enormous growth, corporate consolidation, “off-shoring” of manufacturing, eventually leading to their demise. A familiar story across many American industries of that time. Now the industry is controlled by corporate conglomerates that border on monopolistic. Soul-less eyewear punched out by the tens of millions in fast-paced assembly lines run in factories in places where cheap labor is plentiful.

Through the Years

Even though today’s Craft Eyewear seems fairly new, it has been around for a very long time. The issue has always been accessibility. Small cottage industries, primarily in Italy, but throughout Europe and in Japan have been producing it for decades. Often though, the eyewear they produced was less accessible to the average American consumer. It was typically found in small boutiques in large cities. And often the designs were either somewhat avant garde or “very European”.

Craft Eyewear Today

In recent years, independent manufacturers have sprung up and their numbers have increased, looking to serve a market where consumers seek unique, quality eyewear. Companies in Europe, Japan and even a handful of American upstarts have begun offering alternatives. Best of all, this eyewear has become more accessible, not only in availability, but in price. Today you can buy a handmade in the USA frame for the same prices you’ll pay for a “designer” piece made on automated machinery produced in the Far East. These producers are being supported by a small but growing network of independent eyewear retailers. Most often they are optometrists with a sense of style and a desire to do things differently.

Independent Optical

If we sound excited about the brands we represent and stock, it’s because we believe deeply in each one and regularly witness first had the eye-opening experience of the wearer’s first experience their new eyewear and sunwear. We are continually updating and expanding the lines that we carry. Stop in and explore a whole new experience- Craft Eyewear.