Introducing Cubitts: spectacle makers with an eye for design

Glasses brand Cubitts is everything we never realised we wanted from a glasses brand, and suddenly we don’t want to get our eyes tested anywhere else. Its three central London locations leave little to be desired, with interiors that tell richly detailed stories of spectacle history and services that range from ready-to-wear optical options to a design-your-own frames offering.

As we begin working with Cubitts and celebrate the opening of its third retail space over in Spitalfields, we thought we should probably ask Tom Broughton, Cubitts founder and all-round spectacle genius, to provide us with a little insight into the company he has proudly built…

How did Cubitts start out? There’s hardly a shortage of glasses providers…
I suppose the very seed of Cubitts came from my severe myopia, which evolved into a profound personal love of spectacles. But while there’s a plethora of glasses providers, there are surprisingly few British spectacles brands. Which is pretty amazing given that 18th–20th century London was one of the optical capitals of the world, and its spectacle-making industry was a hallmark of British craft, closely tied into the watch and jewellery making trades around Clerkenwell.

Why was the name chosen?
We’re named after the Cubitt brothers, Thomas, William and Lewis (hence our name is plural, rather than badly apostrophised). They were pretty remarkable engineers and architects of Victorian London, who revolutionised the building industry. We were founded on Cubitt Street in King’s Cross, on the site of their original building yard. 

How did you personally end up doing what do you do?
I wore spectacles from a young age, and they became very much part of my personality. When I started working aged 20, I bought a pair of Cutler and Gross 692s. I adored them. I was doing various office jobs, which in hindsight was really just career procrastination, and at the weekends learning how frames are made. Then, at some point, I realised I’d started a spectacles company, and frankly, it was too late to turn back. I’d like to pretend it was meticulously planned, but it just sort of happened.

And, er, what do you do?
I look after design, finance, marketing, strategy, management, but my main area of specialism is endlessly moving boxes around. I’m usually designing frames, giving bespoke consultations, piddling around with spreadsheets.

I also try to hand-make spectacle frames the traditional way, without a bandsaw or CNC machine in sight. I’ve been lucky enough to have been taught by master frame maker Lawrence Jenkin, who’s been making frames for 50 years. What I lack in finesse, I hopefully make up for in effort.

How has the company changed in the three years you’ve been operating?
The first year was pretty much just about surviving, and it was touch and go for a while. The second year was really about working out how on Earth to open and run retail. Then the last has been about careful, considered expansion without going bankrupt.

How many people are on the Cubitts team – and what sort of things do they do?
We’re around 20 people. Each of our three stores has a team of four or five; we have two excellent resident optometrists, and an outstanding operations team headed up by Joe, who has been with us from the very beginning.

You now have workshops in Soho, Borough and Spitalfields – why those locations?
They’re corners of London with their own historical sense of identity, which cut through hype. And they are places where we like to spend our time.

They also have links to the history of British optics. For example, the world’s first true pair of spectacles was made in Soho in the 18^th century. John Dolland, one of the most influential British opticians, was the son of a Huguenot silk weaver from Spitalfields and lived in the area before establishing the company that became Dolland & Aitchison.

Your website and materials seems to be very much focused on the history and heritage of the neighbourhoods in which you operate – how does that tie in with the Cubitts philosophy?
We’ve certainly tried to tie each store into the historical context of the area. In Soho our material palette includes neon, referencing Soho’s central role in London’s nightlife scene, the concrete of the electrical substation next to us, and the marble detailing of the Marshall Street Baths.

In Borough, we’ve tried to reference the area’s working past (from the nearby market to the rusting overhead railway lines), with some glorious metals patinas, and a sales desk clad in rust.

In Spitalfields, our inspiration was the oak framed silk-weaving looms which swamped the area for two centuries. We use original green enamelled machinists’ lamps to reference the multitude of small workshops.

When we first heard about you, we assumed your glasses would be pretty pricey, but they’re actually really affordable. How do you manage to keep your prices so low?
Our ready-to-wear frames are £125, including prescription or sunglasses lenses. We manage to keep the costs reasonable by doing everything ourselves. We produce our own designs, source our own materials, manage our own production, sell through our own stores… Like the original Victorian Cubitts brothers, we try to stick to the principles of doing one thing really well – efficiently and cost-effectively, without compromising on the craft. 

Cubitts’ new Spitalfields store is now open at 86 Commercial Street, London E1, seven days a week.