Luis Fonseca and Mila Chielman
Nestled deep in the heart of Hackney, London, is a bustling little workshop, where two friends and peers are quietly bringing a new wave of enthusiasm and talent to British eyewear manufacturing. Eyewear.Ltd is run by Luis Fonseca and Mila Chielman who specialise in small production runs of handmade eyewear, bespoke and custom designs for private and commercial clients, prototyping, vintage and handmade glazing, as well as training initiatives for budding eyewear enthusiasts. They are ambitious, kind and unfalteringly passionate about the industry, their craft, and the people they surround themselves with.
The pair met at Cubitts, the brand started by Tom Broughton in 2012. Under the guidance of Matthew Havercroft, a master frame-maker, who is their mentor and great friend, they diligently listened, watched and studied the discipline of handmaking eyewear. It may have been Havercroft who generously helped hone and refine their talent, but their affection and ambition for the industry started long before this meeting. Fonseca’s training began when his father introduced him to a glazing machine at the impressionable age of just nine years old. His intrigue was instant. ‘Everything started from there,’ Fonseca says. ‘He taught me the craft of optical manufacturing, from glazing to sales to refraction and more. Back then, it was mainly glass lenses that had to be cut to shape so as you can imagine a lot of handwork and water... a lot of water.’
Starting out
His father was the owner of several eyewear brands, including the Portuguese brand Desil, which was handmade in Italy. He used to take Fonseca on endless trips to meet his customers and clients and introduced him to all facets of the business. This exposure alongside his endless experience was crucial in defining Fonseca’s journey and he speaks with such love and respect about his late father. Fonseca moved to the UK, looking for new experiences and swiftly started working for Specsavers. He then spent five formative years as the lab manager with Eye Emporium and the owner Salim Juma. Salim helped further grow Fonseca’s industry connections by taking him to major European trade shows and to this day he provides them with much valued business coaching.
Fonseca’s business partner is Mila Chielman. He grew up in a Buddhist community near York – a hubbub of craftspeople, masons, woodworkers, carvers and more who quite literally built the homes they lived in. There was a workshop full of equipment and tools, which a young Chielman would pore over, quieting obsessing over skills and techniques. As with Fonseca’s father, Chielman’s grandfather was a visionary spectacle maker, handmaking frames for 63 years. His talent took him from making bespoke pieces for opticians to custom frames for London Fashion Week and even to Great Ormond Street, where he made specially fitted glasses for
children.
‘I used to visit him at his workshop in Kent where he’d set me tasks such as sorting hinges into drawers, but I loved it,’ Chielman says.
His grandfather hoped he would follow in his footsteps and indeed, Chielman duly picked up his tools and began to work as an apprentice under his guardianship. It is this deep-rooted passion and hereditary motivation that makes what Fonseca and Chielman are doing so authentic.
Picking a path
Cubitts has undoubtedly played an important part in their journey, Fonseca had taken on some lab tech and customer service courses back in Portugal, so joined the team as a lab technician, while Chielman was welcomed as a QEST apprentice where Havercroft taught him ‘the 50 stages of production’. ‘Seeking to expand my frame-making skills, I applied for a position at Cubitts, which, at the time, was really the only option in the UK to gain first-hand optical manufacturing experience. There I met my great friend and mentor, Matthew Havercroft, who taught me everything he could during early mornings and quiet moments,’ says Fonseca.
Learning the intricacies of working with not only cellulose acetate but sustainably sourced water buffalo horn and even 28 carat gold, took their largely municipal learnings to a more metropolitan level of design and craftmanship. They benefitted from the technological advances of Cubitts machinery yet retained their passion for the true art of handcrafting eyewear, the way their forefathers had taught them. To this day, Chielman revels in the of feel of old, traditional machinery such as his grandfather’s green manual ‘bridge bumper’.
Fonseca and Chielman’s partnership was perhaps written in the stars; a meeting of minds, a gratitude for their genealogy and a captivation for craftmanship. Together they set up their workshop in the vibrant Fish Island area of east London, where they have been operating for just under a year. They specialise in small production runs of eyewear for independent designers such as Curry & Paxton, for who they currently produce approximately 50 frames per month.
If you are an optician that requires sampling or are perhaps looking to introduce a line of your own, then Eyewear.Ltd could provide you with exactly that. Perhaps you have a customer looking to remake a favourite pair of glasses? Or you require specialised repairs on vintage or custom eyewear – any and all of these requests can be fulfilled by Fonseca and Chielman. ‘We handle every step of the process in-house, from designing the frames to cutting the lenses. Attention to detail and quality craftsmanship are hallmarks of our work,’ Chielman says.
Traditional approach
They are old-fashion souls masked by modern shells and their ambitions extend further than simply making glasses. ‘We want to be the “Luxottica of Love”,’ Chielman chuckles; but his intention is genuine. They truly want to be the antidote to everything these conglomerates encompass. Skilled manual work has long been undersold in the UK and we need to be looking to the craftsmen and women of the world and trust in their expertise. We all know we consume too much, and the throwaway culture we live in has been exacerbated by the unattainable levels of price and quantities manufacturing has been faced with. Everything has become cheaper, thinner and, ultimately, more poorly made. Few people are truly making things properly anymore and it is incredibly refreshing to listen to these young guys talk about their traditional approach.
Slow fashion is of course the opposite of fast fashion. It takes an ethical and sustainable approach to production and advocates for choices that are kinder to the people and planet, and this is entirely true of Fonseca and Chielman. That being said, growth is very much a part of their plan. ‘Our goal moving forward is to expand into full-scale eyewear manufacturing right here in the UK. This would make us the only end-to-end eyewear producer in the country with a full 5 Axis CNC setup. By combining large-scale manufacturing with the custom eyewear production we currently specialise in, our workshop aims to prove that quality British-made eyewear can still thrive here,’ Fonseca says. They have set their sights on acquiring a 5-axis CNC machine from the exceptional French company OAXA – their ingenious team has engineered the software and machinery with craftsmanship in mind.
Adjacent to the manufacturing floor, they will designate a workshop space where visiting makers can utilise equipment otherwise inaccessible for small studios. There will also be a shared meeting room for the creative community to convene with colleagues or host clients. ‘We’ve met so many talented designers and makers who’ve helped shape us, people such as Romain Kayo, Charlie Ingham, Jack Lupton, Keito Arai and Pauline Pierre. And through them, Lawrence Jenkins, Michael Pitzioris, Rocco Barker, and in particular Matej Prokop from Small Batch Tools, who is a very good friend and supporter. His knowledge opened up so many possibilities and he even provided us with the equipment we have,’ Chielman says.
Sustainability
Central to their ethos is implementing a closed loop recycling programme, enabling upwards of 90% acetate reuse from their own facility’s waste. The industry standard is a paltry 14%, with 86% ending up in landfills. Through efficient recycling alone, they aim to significantly reduce unnecessary plastic consumption. This small but vibrant community of UK makers and designers has become like a family; educating and motivating Chielman and Fonseca to hone their craft and expand their ambitions.
In turn, they try to give back however they can, welcoming newcomers to follow in their footsteps. Their plans for expansion really are to help this network of friends and give back to the growing community. ‘Ultimately, our ambition is to resurrect the rich optical history that once thrived in the UK. By providing space and resources for the next generation of homegrown makers and designers, we hope to reinvigorate the artisan eyewear ecosystem and re-establish British craftsmanship on the global stage.’