Banton Frameworks
Jamie Bartlett and Lucy Ross, based in Kilsyth, UK, craft bespoke spectacles and sunglasses, blending traditional craftsmanship with limited-edition creativity, offering a personal touch to eyewear that mass-produced frames lack.
Edition 3 Feature (September 2021)
We Interview: Jamie Bartlett and Lucy Ross
Location: Kilsyth, UK
Photo Credit: ©Jamie Bartlett and Lucy Ross,
What is it that you do and how do you do it?
My business partner Lucy Ross and I handmake spectacles and sunglasses frames from our workshop by Banton Loch, just outside Kilsyth, near Glasgow.
We have a core collection of frames, our staple products, and then there are our limited editions, which are sometimes a little bit wilder, use different materials or are a certain colour we’ve managed to get hold of. We release those monthly: it might be 40 pieces or just five. The beauty of it is that people have to get behind a limited edition there and then, because it’s now or never. It’s a good way to keep people engaged.
As a small business, your best weapon is often also your biggest weakness. We are nimble, we are small, we can make small runs, but size is also our weakness – we can’t make thousands of them. You have to stick to your strengths and know what you can do that other, bigger companies can’t.
How we do it is a bit more of an intricate question, but essentially, sheets of cellulose acetate – the material we use to make our frames – arrive at our door and they leave as fully formed spectacles or sunglasses frames.
How did you get into making glasses?
