Write to me and tell me what you have in mind. I read everything myself.
If you are in London, come to the bench. Sundays 3–6, Thursdays 4–7. Allow half an hour, longer if a fitting starts. I will have the current frames in hand, and I will measure your face while we talk. If you are somewhere else, we can do the same thing over video.
I make 48 frames a year, all of them myself, and no two people arrive with the same face or the same reason. So tell me what you want, and I will tell you honestly whether I can make it. If I think nothing I make suits you, I will say so.
Black Archive £950, Patina £1,350, either shape in either finish.
Three to four weeks from a confirmed order. Payment when we confirm.
Gow
1 Dye House Lane, London E3 2TB. Fifteen minutes on foot from Hackney Wick Overground or Bow Road underground. Paid parking on site.
If you wear prescription lenses, bring your current frame and your most recent prescription. A specialist glazier works in the same building and can join the fitting by request.
TANAKA is not for everyone, and it is not meant to be.
These frames are for the person who reads an object before wearing it. Who has stopped buying logos. Who would rather own one thing made once than replace many made quickly.
A TANAKA frame is made from compressed paper composite. It takes the marks of your wearing. It changes over time. That change is the point, not a flaw to be avoided.
If that reads as a loss, this is not for you. If it reads as the reason, read on.
At Distance
A frame is fitted in the room. Where that is not possible,I make sun frames at distance. A frame intended for prescription lenses is fitted at the bench and handed over in person, and your own optician glazes it. The measurements that matter, where each lens sits before the eye, at what angle, at what distance. It can only be taken once the frame is finished and sitting correctly on your face.
Expect it to take longer, and to ask more of you.
Photographs. Three, taken by someone else, in daylight, without glasses. Straight on with your eyes level to the lens.
Three-quarter, turned slightly away. Profile. In the first, hold a ruler flat against your face, just below the eyes, with the millimetre markings toward the camera. Do not measure anything. The ruler is there so that I can.
Thirty minutes by video. Have the frame you wear now to hand. Years of wear leave a record no photograph carries, and I can read most of it through a screen. I draw the line I would draw in the room, and tell you which format and which edition I would make. If I think nothing I make suits you, I will say so.
Two apps, if you have a recent iPhone. Neither is required. They record. I read them. 3D Scanner App, by Laan Labs, for a scan of the head — this needs a Pro model with LiDAR. EyeMeasure, by Bonlook, for pupillary distance. This needs an iPhone X or newer. Both are free, and both are iOS only. Otherwise the photographs and the ruler are enough.
Sending. There are countries I cannot send lenses to. Duties and import taxes on arrival are yours. I will tell you what applies to you before you commit.
On arrival. The frame is fitted on arrival like any other. If it does not sit correctly, send it back and I will refit it. If the fault is in my reading, I make it again. This is not a returns policy. It is the second fitting, held at a distance.
If you can come to the bench, come to the bench.
Questions
Where is the atelier, and when can I come?
1 Dye House Lane, Hackney Wick, London E3 2TB. Fifteen minutes on foot from Hackney Wick on the Overground, or Bow Road on the District and Hammersmith & City lines. There is paid parking on site. I hold viewings every Sunday from 3pm to 6pm and every Thursday from 4pm to 7pm. Write to me and I will offer you the next time that suits us both.
How long does a frame take?
Three to four weeks from a confirmed order to collection or dispatch. I work to a small monthly capacity, and when the month is taken I will tell you your start date in writing.
How does payment work?
In full when the order is confirmed. The frame enters the making schedule at that point.
Is every frame made to measure?
No. Every TANAKA frame is fitted. Not every TANAKA frame is made to measure. Fitting adjusts a frame to your face. Made to measure determines its dimensions from the start.
Black Archive is made individually to order in two sizes, wide and narrow, then adjusted to you. Patina is made to your measurements from the beginning, and numbered — 150 of each shape. Either shape in either finish.
Can I have prescription lenses fitted?
I make and fit the frame. Your own optometrist or dispensing optician glazes it to your prescription. The fitting is done here, at the bench, with the finished frame on your face — where the lens sits before the eye, at what angle and at what distance, can only be set that way. That is why a frame for prescription use is fitted here and not at a distance.
Can I drive in them?
Yes, in daylight. The sun lenses are filter category 2 and pass traffic light recognition. They are not suitable for driving at night or in twilight.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, tracked and insured. Sun frames are made at a distance where a visit is not possible, and Type-I and Type-RO are tested to BS EN ISO 12312-1. There are countries I cannot send lenses to. Import taxes, duties, customs charges and handling fees in the destination country are the recipient's. I will tell you what applies to you before you commit to anything.