Artisans of Eyewear

A look inside the unique world of designers who celebrate the fine art of handcrafted and bespoke eyewear

By Erinn Morgan

In a world of factory-produced, mass-distributed frames, a segment of elite consumers are clamoring for something highly different—eyewear that is truly handmade by artisans or even made to order in the bespoke tradition.

“The demand for unique, handmade eyewear has been increasing in the past few years, particularly in Asian markets,” says Wancy Low, brand manager of Eisingen, Germany-based Lotos Eyewear.

At Mercura NYC, artisans of over-the-top, cult-classic styles, owners Rachel Cohen-Lunning and Merrilee Lichtenstein Cohen are seeing the most growth in their upper price tiers.

“I believe the market for bespoke eyewear has grown, despite the economy,” says Shilo Rapp, lead designer and manufacturing director at Rapp Eyewear, which handcrafts über-modern eyewear in Canada.

“There’s an endless sea of eyewear being sold everywhere and being produced, well, who knows where?” He adds, “People are waking up to the fact that spending a little more money on something unique and well made will look better, last longer, and is a better investment.”

Artisan eyewear designers around the globe are delivering on this demand with gorgeous, unique, and over-the-top styles that are, in some cases, fit for a king.

Here, we check in with several handcrafters to learn about the passion behind their

LOTOS

Tucked away in the hamlet of Eisingen, Germany, LOTOS Goldbrillen retains a distinct passion for crafting eyewear in the traditional way. That means the company designs and constructs all of its own tools in-house while also employing a roster of highly trained professionals, such as goldsmith masters, goldsmiths, and fine polishers. The ultrahigh- end eyewear maker has been handcrafting stunning and bejeweled eyeglass frames for artists, government officials, and royal families since 1872.

Location: Southern Germany

Passion & Focus: “We are inspired by the value of precious and rare metal—LOTOS has a long family tradition of making unique and innovative masterpieces with traditional craftsmanship,” says Wancy Low, brand manager. “The only way to keep such passion for handcrafting art from generation to generation is to sustain the core value of our brand—supreme quality with limited production.”

Design Inspiration: “Our focus is making the world’s most luxurious eyewear, with unique details. We are the world’s one and only handcrafted jewelry eyewear brand,” says Low.

Retail Price Range: $5,200 to “no limit”

Annual Production: Around 3,000

How the Eyewear is Made: “Every piece of LOTOS eyewear is designed by Stephan Schmidt, the brand’s fifth-generation president,” says Low. “Mr. Schmidt himself is not only a designer but also an experienced goldsmith. Every frame is entirely handcrafted according to the Schmidt’s savior-faire technique, which has been in place for over a century. The eyewear is created by talented and experienced LOTOS craftsmen who each have more than 10 years of experience in making jewelry eyewear.”

Customer Base: A wide range of customers around the globe, including professionals, entrepreneurs, government officials, artists, and royal families.

On the Web: lotosgoldbrillen.de

MERCURA NYC

Based in Manhattan’s legendary Hotel Chelsea, where their trove of beads, baubles, jewels, and frame blanks are stored in boxes stacked ceiling-high, eyewear artisan sisters Rachel Cohen-Lunning and Merrilee Lichtenstein Cohen have been handcrafting wild, overthe- top eyewear since the 1970s. The two got their start designing metal body sculptures and art before moving into eyewear as their main medium.

Throughout the past four decades, Mercura’s frames have become cult classics that are coveted by stylists, photographers, and celebs such as eyewear collector Elton John.

Location: A studio in New York City’s Hotel Chelsea and a large work loft in the Flatiron District

Passion & Focus: “Surround the eyes with beauty and everything around will become beautiful,” says Lichtenstein Cohen. “We are both artists bringing our art through our sunglasses.”

Design Inspiration: “Our eyewear is unique, made with unusual materials collaged, sculpted, painted, and orchestrated in a way to turn a person into a personality,” says Cohen-Lunning. “We are known for doing that.”

Retail Price Range: $185 to $1,900

Annual Production: “This varies each year,” says Lichtenstein Cohen. “We’ve made thousands of eyewear designs over the past 40 years. Originally, we were making a line of sculpted enameled art to wear (until 1989).”

How the Eyewear is Made: “It’s all made with hands-on creativity,” says Cohen-Lunning. “We make small art pieces in our sunglasses collection by applying our knowledge of bending, sculpting, and painting to many of our materials. The inspiration is from organic art nouveau designer Erte, deconstructionist architect Frank Gehry, futuristic sci-fi movies, clouds, New York City, moon, stars…”

Customer Base: “This varies because of the range of prices,” says Lichtenstein Cohen. “There are pieces for almost everyone, from secretaries to rock stars. We do get lots of theater people—dancers, and painters, and designers.”

On the Web: mercuranyc.com

RAPP EYEWEAR

While running his Toronto-based, high-end optical shop, Mel Rapp dreamed of being able to offer a great frame made in Canada. After many years of research and development, the avant-garde Rapp Eyewear collection was born in 2006. Crafted in the Rapp offices in Toronto, each new frame is machined in-house and then assembled by hand.

Location: Toronto, Canada

Passion & Focus: “The passions and focus at Rapp are the design and local manufacture of unique, well-made eyewear,” says Shilo Rapp, lead designer and manufacturing director. “We follow this direction because we love eyewear design, we respect the economy in which we live, and we believe that control and close monitoring of our production helps to ensure a consistent quality.”

Design Inspiration: Signature characteristics such as distinct acetate finishes, unique shapes (both bold and accessible), a beautiful color palette, light weight, and a signature combination of titanium and acetate, which makes them “distinctly recognizable as a Rapp frame,” says Shilo Rapp. “There is a caring, hands-on approach taken by everyone involved in making a Rapp frame.

“Our process is so involved,” Rapp continues. “They are not just pumped out of a production line. They slowly make their way through the hands of everyone here. Each frame is treated independent from the next, and I believe this is what we are known for and what makes a Rapp frame look different.”

Retail Price Range: Starting at $500

Annual Production: Fewer than 5,000 frames per year

How the Eyewear is Made: Made in-house in Rapp’s own production facility by a production family of five people (including Shilo Rapp). All equipment and processes, which have been developed in-house over the years, are proprietary to Rapp.

“Mel is a licensed optician with extensive experience in eyewear manufacture,” says Shilo Rapp. “His training focus is from the optician’s perspective, which helps to ensure that we all deliver a well-adjusted product that both opticians and labs can easily work with.” Shilo is a trained goldsmith who has also studied tool and die machining.

Customer: “Rapp’s clients are mostly 30-plus-year-old professionals and creatives who appreciate what we do, want to look unique, and love that our frames were handmade in Toronto, Canada.”

On the Web: rapplimited.com

One Optician’s Bespoke Atelier

Located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Customeyes is a truly unique optical shop. Led by optician Nader Zadi, ABOC, Customeyes is an exclusive vintage and bespoke eyewear atelier. The focus here is to craft truly custom eyewear to fit clients perfectly. The process begins with clients selecting colors and style directions from Zadi’s extensive collection of antique frames. He then creates a new interpretation that perfectly complements the client’s facial features, proportions, and complexion. Here, we check in with the designer/optician on his passion for a luxurious and uncommon craft. WHAT IS YOUR PASSION? To create aesthetically supreme masterpieces that fit, function, and flatter my clients’ facial features, image, and lifestyle. The elements of art, old-world craftsmanship, and precision optical standards are harmonized to produce luxury, one-of-a-kind eyewear that is classic, timeless, and elegant. WHY HAS THIS BECOME YOUR FOCUS? I’m an artist. There is no substitute for an authentic expression of excellence and artistry that is instantly recognized, identifiable, and inspiring. Extending these qualities and personalizing it for the client makes it that much more meaningful and valuable. WHAT IS YOUR PRICE RANGE FOR BESPOKE EYEWEAR? Starting from $1,800 and up. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CRAFT ONE FRAME? The process takes from four to six weeks, depending on design variables, anomalies in facial symmetry, and work volume. WHO IS THE CUSTOMER FOR YOUR BESPOKE FRAMES? Affluent, professional men between the ages of 45 and 70 who wish to distinguish their look to parallel their social and professional distinction. Mostly, they fly in from out of state and from other countries. They are connoisseurs of luxury and seek the highest caliber of personalization in their wardrobe and lifestyle.

ADAM MUGAVERO

This Brooklyn-based wood artisan handcrafts “functional sculpture for your face.” His whitewashed work loft is filled with sculptural wood works of all shapes and sizes—with the shavings and chips scattered about the floor. But hand making highly unique wood eyewear is his real passion. “It’s something that you can wear that has been handmade from a block of wood—something that’s special,” he says.

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Passion & Focus: “The idea of being able to sculpt a wearable piece of art is extremely appealing to me,” says Mugavero. “I have the luxury of being able to make something that is a complement for one’s face. That, in itself, is special, so it must be worthy and deserving of being seen and seeing through.”

Design Inspiration: “The materials I use are of the finest woods in the world,” says Mugavero. “They are accented by precious and semiprecious gem stones and metals. My work may be more akin to jewelry than current eyewear and these frames are worn as such.”

Retail Price Range: From $450 to $3,000 wholesale. “The price tag depends on the hours I give for each, and the materials and gem stone inlays,” he explains.

Annual Production: Over the last year, Mugavero made 25 numbered “Tier One” (couture) pieces at an average of 55 hours per piece.

How the Eyewear is Made: “Each piece is made solely by hand,” says Mugavero. His highest-end couture piece has taken upward of 200 hours to make. This year the artist also began exploring semi-manufactured collection styles (“Tier Two”) that he calls Carmella and Olea.

“These are machined eyehole templates that serve as a base from which to sculpt,” says Mugavero. “Each of these Tier Two pieces is cut down to about 10 hours each to make.”

Customer: Mugavero’s frames are sold at high-end boutiques, mostly in New York City.

On the Web: adammugavero.com, video at youtube.com/watch?v=JGlSlTcqDZs

The Cult of Wood

Handmade wooden frames are having a beautiful moment in the sun, attracting a young, hipster clientele. These artisans are also working with the medium but handcrafting on a larger and more affordable scale. Capital Eyewear With a production studio in San Francisco, this small maker of modern wood eyewear has a tight focus on style. Capital Eyewear also keeps things in the U.S. “Doing everything from design to production in-house in the USA allows us to have total control over every aspect of our glasses and, in the end, means we can make the best pair of glasses possible,” says founder Steven Kilzer, who notes that each wood frame takes about three weeks to go from a solid piece of lumber to a finished pair of glasses. Capital’s frames retail for $180 and up and come with free shipping worldwide and a handmade leather case. They are sold online on Capital’s website and at select retailers. Shwood This Portland, OR-based wood eyewear maker says it lives by the tag line, “Experiment with Nature.” “We strive to push the boundaries of eyewear by incorporating a variety of natural materials in a unique and surprising way,” says brand manager Taylor Murray. “The goal is to create one-of-a-kind eyewear that is not only beautiful, but also incorporates the highest quality components.” Each year, Shwood’s Portland woodshop produces about 40,000 pairs of eyewear, with each frame passing through the hands of about 20 craftspeople. Each pair takes about two hours from start to finish. Prices range from $145 to $295 retail depending on wood and lenses. Sire’s Crown This eyewear maker’s wood frames are all handcrafted in downtown Los Angeles. Co-founder C.J. Thomason says their goal is to create customizable, one-of-a-kind, and affordable eyewear. “These three factors make us a company that has to work to make each frame unique and represent the customer,” he says. “it also keeps us from mass manufacturing—we hand craft our eyewear in the United States.” Each frame takes anywhere between two and four hours to produce and wood frames are $250 to $350 retail. Sire’s Crown sells its eyewear at craft events across the country, including comic book conventions.