LONDON — The late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent famously wanted to recede from the limelight at the apex of his career. Though failing to become completely invisible, he decided to hide one thing everyone was looking for in the man — his expression — literally and sartorially by way of his bespoke spectacles from Maison Bonnet.
The family business was founded in 1950 by Robert Bonnet, who learned the craft from his father, Albert. The company has lasted four generations and has been passed down to Robert’s grandsons, Franck and Steven.
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The shy haute lunetterie only set up shop in Paris’ Palais-Royal in 2009, having before dealt with customers through its studio in Bordeaux, France, and relying on word of mouth.
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“No one pushed me into the business, actually my father didn’t want me to do it because in the 1980s the glasses business changed; it went from craftsmanship to brands,” says Franck Bonnet, co-chief executive officer of Maison Bonnet and a craftsman at the company.
“My father tried to discourage me from working in the family business, so I went to do other jobs and learned new things at 20 years old, but I decided that this is what I wanted to do when I returned at 26.”
During the period of finding his path, Franck got involved in marketing, communications, real estate and cars.
On his return to the family business, Franck already had an idea of what to do and where to go. Growing up he learned the tricks of the business from his grandfather. In the winter days his grandfather would spend time with him to correct his gesture when it came to practicing in the workshops.
“My own father was young and on super speed so he had no time to teach me, whereas my grandfather was more relaxed and he spent more time with me, especially when it came to holding the tools correctly,” he said.
Family is the name of the game at Maison Bonnet. Franck’s mother Marie-Christine, who is in her seventies, is the administrator of the company and his 20-year-old nephew, Matis, joined the trade earlier this year.
“It’s complicated working with family, especially when you have something difficult to tell your own brother,” says Franck, explaining that he always looks for the right moment to communicate his feedback and frustrations.
“You choose your words carefully, whereas with employees, it’s easier to say what you’re thinking.”
When it comes to family quarrels, they know there’s a lot at stake as it’s a company that’s slowly expanding. However, for Franck, who has two Italian maternal grandmothers, family dynamics don’t phase him because of the cultural way he was raised.
“We like to live like a family in the countryside all together,” he said, revealing that a majority of the immediate family still lives in Bordeaux, France which they have done over the past six decades.
Despite Maison Bonnet’s famous customers such as Jackie Onassis, Jacques Chirac and Audrey Hepburn, the family business was facing its own doubts as the eyewear market began to depart from craftsmanship to mass market. New eyewear brands started launching and fashion brands started taking a more rigorous approach to accessories.
“It was the end of being a spectacle maker,” he said, adding that the “challenge was to carry on at the same level and to still be as exceptional at creating objects that won’t transform the person, but enhance their personality.”
In the present day the company makes 2,000 spectacles a year: 1,300 for the Paris store and 700 for its store at 7 Stafford Street in London, which makes it one of the smallest manufacturers in the world with only 20 craftsmen on hand. Acetate glasses start from 950 euros, buffalo horn at 1,400 euros and the crème de la crème tortoiseshell prices are available upon request depending on the design.
To become a Maison Bonnet artisan can take up to three years.
“We hire very young people and in their first year they’re not customer-facing as they are there to observe the studio craftsman and practice on acetate repeatedly,” said Franck.
In the second year, they are trained to work with buffalo horn before graduating to facing customers where they can make glasses made out of acetate or horn. The next step is to progress into working with shell glasses which takes between five to six years.
“We dream of opening a shop in New York or Los Angeles,” said Franck of his future dreams, then explaining that “it’s really difficult to have good staff as I need five years to send out. We cannot risk becoming mainstream and it’s too long to train people and open new sites.”
Although the business operates out of two European stores, the majority of customers come from the U.S., Japan and Italy with consumers from the Emirates taking a keen interest in the London store.