Interview and Photography by Nadine Wilmanns

Rae`s Glasses and Sunglasses

In Conversation with Rae Jenkin

Rae is perfectly named—she truly is a Rae of light in any room with her extraordinary, luminous personality. And she also protects people from sunrays: She sells vintage glasses and sunglasses that have never been worn. Her shop is located in London, just off the iconic Camden Passage.

Rae, how did you find your love for vintage sunglasses and glasses?

Around 15 years ago I used to make and sell nipple tassels in the Burlesque world when it was underground and exciting. I was wearing more vintage-inspired clothes and wanted glasses to go with my outfits. I grew up deeply immersed in the world of eyewear; both of my parents are Dispensing Opticians; my dad, Lawrence, is a Frame Maker & Eyewear Designer; and my mom, Nadine, had her own Optical Practice for 17 years.

Wow, so it runs in the family?

My Paternal grandfather bought Anglo American Eyewear in the late 1940s after The Second World War when they had been servicing binoculars for The Royal Navy and Canadian Navy. My dad went to the US to learn dispensing and about frame design and making. While there he got funding to buy equipment to manufacture frames in London. When he got back to the UK, he and his brothers set up manufacturing in the family factory on the edge of the Hampstead Heath where my grandparents also lived. My Father was Chief Designer and began to design and make classic spectacles and sunglasses as well as over the top designs such as stars, animals, letters, Landmarks like the Eiffel Towers amongst many from ‘the specials’ collection. I have some displayed in the shop that I’ve picked up on my travels, it’s particularly nice to bring them back from faraway places, to the UK where they were made.

It was a family affair with my nana running the dying department where she hand- tinted frames, she was particularly known for her rainbow tint. Lots of the family worked in Anglo in some capacity at some point. I remember my sister and I modelling some glasses for a new children’s range. My dad designs and makes under his own name now and my uncle and cousin run Anglo.

What about your mom Nadine? How was she involved in your story with glasses?

My mom’s shop was such a huge part of mine and my sister’s childhood; we would be in the consulting room while she attended to customers. We’d dust and clean the lenses, play around on the consulting room chair, fiddle with the ink on the old credit card receipt books and give each other pretend eye tests on the Snellen chart. If we weren’t in the shop, we were riding in her black Mini-Mayfair picking up lenses/dropping off orders to customers. There was a sense of community amongst the shopkeepers on Beauchamp Place, like what I have now on Camden Passage.

Every time I use my vintage frame heater, or look at 90’s LA Eyeworks/ Jean Paul Gaultier/Paul Smith/Armani frames or advertising; I’m transported back to her shop.

“It was a family affair.” – Rae about her story with glasses

These are amazing childhood memories...

My dad has always had some kind of workshop in his house, and we’d often accompany him to the factory where he would be working late; drawing on his drafting table & making frames on the work bench. We would play amongst the storerooms of acetate, photocopy our faces on the photocopier, run around the eery corridors that by day was full with production staff.

At the time when I was making tassels, my dad made me a stamping machine to cut out tassel bases in a more efficient way. It was set up at Alga Works – the last remaining handmaking eyewear factory in the UK, on Fish Island, Hackney Wick (sadly now closed), where he was working at the time. I would go there a couple of times a month to stamp out batches, because the machine was too heavy to move. The factory was full of familiar smells and sounds: polishing barrels, loud factory equipment, gated lifts, wood chips, acetate dust — but sparse in workers compared to its manufacturing heyday.

What made you realize that you want to step into your family`s footsteps?

I was doing an Art Foundation at the time and thought I’d like to try my hand at frame making. Although I’d been in this environment my whole life; it was at Alga when I really took notice of the process. Inspired by my dad’s whimsical frames, I sketched a peace-and-love design and a classic cat-eye. I began making acetate sample swatches to learn: cutting, filing, drilling, polishing, using the barrels… My dad gave me small tasks, and while I loved learning the traditional craft, I quickly realised how many steps are involved — and how much patience and knowledge is required. Ultimately, he made the frames, but I’ll always treasure that time working alongside him. It deepened my appreciation for what I do now, and helps me recognise materials, hinges and vintage construction in the frames I curate.

My paternal grandfather was the breadwinner for his family as a child following his father’s death at a young age and tried a few businesses before buying Anglo American Eyewear. My mom is a second-generation New Yorker; her family having fled Eastern Europe to NYC working respectively in silk flower making factories and shop keepers in “the old country” which they continued to do in NYC.

Seeing Nadine’s pictures of me in my own shop makes me think of old photographs of my ancestors in their own work settings; that spirit of hard work and creativity runs through both sides of my family and I somehow sense them all within me.

You have a real talent for matching people with the right glasses. Looking at your Instagram feed, which shows the glasses you've sold being worn by their new owners, I can see that they all look great. How do you manage to do that?

I am curious and interested in people — I enjoy chatting and finding what works for their face and personality. I ask people what they like and encourage them to try things on. You really can’t tell until a frame is on your face — which is why I don’t sell online. I’ll make suggestions based on what I think would suit them. Often people fall in love with a frame they may never have picked themselves. If someone loves a frame that is not a ‘traditional fit’ – I’m not going to block their individuality. I personally love eyebrows and them being on show but for other frames perhaps totally covered!

The rule I subscribe to is: try things on, if it fits well, and you love it – great! Certain prescriptions require certain frames – but I think there is still a lot of variety. Particularly with vintage – the range is broader than in most opticians; where there is generally less choice: a small range of ‘trends’ means quicker sales. Sometimes the choice can be overwhelming but if you have time, it’s lots of fun to try on and I encourage people to take pictures, take hats off, put your hair up and down.

Sometimes you just know when it’s the frame for you as soon as you put it on!

Camden Passage in Islington is an iconic place to have a shop. Is it important for your business to be in a popular area like this?

I lived in Angel for a decade and have childhood memories of traipsing the market and an affinity for the area. I was a burnt-out Social Worker when I had the chance to take a pop-up shop on Camden Passage. The space was huge — with an enchanting old well in the back — but I knew it was temporary. Encouraged by its success, I spotted a cute florist shop on Charlton Place and told her to let me know if she ever left. She did. My shop is just off Camden Passage — a historic hub of vintage and antiques. There are fewer antique shops now, but love the old-fashioned magic of the market and local traders. Securing the shop was probably one of the most stressful experiences of my life: financially, the back and forth with Solicitors (one year!), deposits, pop-ups around the country to keep things going and then doing it up when I was in. I have regulars who pop in for a chat or coffee, and visitors discovering the charm of the passage for the first time most weeks, so I feel very connected to the neighbourhood. I’ve been here for two and a half years and is also one of the best risks I’ve ever taken! I hope to become more established and learn lots more along the way.

Visit Rae`s Shop here: 2 Charlton Place, London N1 8AJ

Her Instagram is: @raesglassesandsunglasses