We’re delighted to introduce our third store, The Spitalfields Workshop.
With our full range of spectacles and sunglasses, eye examinations in the basement, and bespoke services, the Spitalfields Workshop is at 86 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LY.
Our display was inspired by the silk weaving looms which littered the area in the 18th and 19th centuries - in 1830, a phenomenal 24,000 looms were in operation in Spitalfields - driven by the influx of silk weaving Huguenots from France.
Like the revolutionary oak framed Jacquard loom, our spectacles and sunglasses are held together by a series of hand profiled beams, affixed at vertical and 45 degree angles. Further reclaimed oak is referenced in the flooring and panelling.
The Jacquard loom was regarded as the original computer- these ingenious machines read weaving patterns from a punch card, and directly influenced Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine (an original loom punch card sits in the window).
Our reclaimed lighting references the early 20th century, when Spitalfields become teeming with small workshops.
Our green enamel machinist’s lamps were produced by the Mek Elek Engineering, a company founded in 1931 by H. C. Cooper in London. Capable of rotating through a full 360 degrees, and used for intricate machinist’s work, the vitreous enamelled shades have the original factory finishes to the arms and base.
In the window are three rare Zeiss Ikon oplaine lights, designed by Adolf Meyer and manufactured by Zeiss Ikon Berlin in 1930. Primarily a manufacturer of cameras, Zeiss also produced light fittings during the 1930s, before expanding into optics through Carl Zeiss. We still use Carl Zeiss lenses in many of our sunglasses.
The frontage has been magnificently wood-grained by Ian Harper, responsible for buildings including the iconic Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and restored by Jim Howett (long term Spitalfields resident and craftsman – see more here).
Built in the 19th century directly opposite Spitalfields Market, 86 Commercial Street was formerly a boot maker, wool merchant and paper sundriesmen. She sits next to the historic Ten Bells pub (of Jack The Ripper fame), around the corner of the glorious East-end streets of Fournier, Princelet and Wilkes, and in the shadow of Hawksmoor designed Christ Church Spitalfields.
We think she’s rather exquisite.
