Nice to meet you.
Thanks for digging a little deeper into Banton Frameworks. It's great to see you have a curiosity for how this whole thing started.
For the unvarnished truth, please scroll down.
This photo was taken in 2012.
A time when my friends were getting 'good jobs' with big companies or moving down to London.
Meanwhile I was learning to make spectacles in a shed between late-night pub shifts.
But why?
I'd recently met Lucy at University.
Far braver than me, she inspired us to take charge of our own destinies instead of getting 9-5 jobs.
Problem was, we had zero experience.
Very little money.
No equipment.
And nowhere to make frames.
Just the desire to be together, build something great and prove that we could make it work.
This is the true story of how Banton really started.
Love triangle
For her (2012) final year university project, co-founder Lucy was designing spectacle frames.
Being the nice guy, I helped with some of the early prototypes, cutting them out using the college machinery.
The deadline came and went.
We both graduated 🎓
But we kept going back to our old university studio, sneaking-in at night to use the equipment.
Head over heels, we'd fallen into a relationship with each other... whilst learning to make glasses frames.
The stars aligned.
With each other.
And the opportunity to make jobs of our own.
📞"Dad, I'm starting my own business."
With who? Doing what?
"It's complicated."
Night classes
In the evenings, we secretly revisited our old University, making use of the school equipment.
With nobody there to stop us, we made frame after frame, tweaking and honing.
We learned more in those 3 months than we did in the 4 years of being in that place.
[ Cue montage music ]
I swear, the best thing we got from higher-education was meeting each other.
But before long, summer was over.
Illicit University access had ended.
We needed a workshop of our own.
Theatre of dreams
These sheds were built at the bottom of Lucy's garden.
Inside, we installed our first machines bought with savings and my new pub job wages.
The business model was simple.
Make. Sell. Reinvest. Learn. Grow. Repeat. ♻️
Zero profits for years.
Meanwhile, my friends were getting married, starting families and 'living their best lives'.
They all seemed to be doing so well.
I admit, it stung when they asked "are you guys still doing the glasses thing?"
Removing social media off my phone, Lucy and I doubled our efforts to master our craft.
We'll get there...
And as it turned out, devoting ourselves to the process of making something really ****** well was a great business model.
The slow way was the best way.
Our frames got better and so did our prospects, attracting interest online from our newly built website.
I sold my car and left my pub job.
I moved out my flat and into Lucy's family home, going full-time with Banton.
It was time.
📨 Optician's stocked us.
🚀 We crowdfunded.
📦 Distribution in Japan.
Things got busy.
In our haste, we started playing BIG when really, we were small - trying to please everyone.
Constantly making frames wasn't all that fun anymore and the passion started to fade.
But then came a huge lesson.
Covid.
Follow the recipe
With the world on pause, every optical practice closed and our Japanese distribution ceased.
There was only one way to keep the wheels turning.
Sell directly to you.
And trust me when I say that it's the best thing we've ever done.
Like our early days, we could work slowly again, with better focus and more importantly - with love ❤️
Lockdown was the perfect chance to make the best eyewear possible, exclusively for you.
No distractions.
Since 2020, we've returned to our original recipe of small batches.
Our frames have become even better and so has our relationships with legends like you who choose to invest in them.
Allowing us to work together every single day, just like we hoped.
We couldn't do this without you.
How it all works
1: Join our waiting list to be notified of our next release of limited edition eyewear.
2: You'll receive email notifications about the exact date and time of the next release.
3: On launch day, you get exclusive access to our latest release of eyewear.
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We're perfect for you if...
- You're bored of mainstream eyewear.
- Comfortable buying glasses online.
- Looking for a stylish upgrade.
- Love sturdy frames.
We're not for you if...
- You love big brands.
- Prefer going to an optician.
- Begrudge wearing glasses.
- Love flimsy thin frames.