Journal
Notes on authentication, leather care, frame styling and the histories of the workshops we stock.
Authentication · 6 min read
How to read a leather edge (and what it tells you about the bag)
The edge of a strap is the fastest honest signal of how a bag was built. Four finishes, ranked, and what each one costs the maker.
Authentication · 5 min read
Block acetate vs injection-moulded: how to tell in ten seconds
Two frames can look identical online and cost forty times different to make. Here is what to check on the temple, the hinge and the edge.
Styling · 7 min read
Face shape and frames: the only three rules that hold up
Most face-shape guides are astrology. Three principles actually predict whether a frame will suit you — and one measurement matters more than shape.
Care · 6 min read
Caring for vegetable-tanned leather in its first year
Vegetable-tanned hide changes more in twelve months than chrome-tanned leather does in ten years. A month-by-month plan, and the two mistakes that are hard to undo.
Brand history · 8 min read
Why nine in ten Japanese frames come from one small city
Sabae started making eyeglasses in 1905 as winter work for farming families. It now supplies a fifth of the world's frames. The reason is titanium.
Styling · 5 min read
One tote, three weeks: what actually fits in a 38 cm bag
We loaded a market tote for a commute, a flight and a weekend, and weighed it each time. Useful if you buy bags online and guess at scale.