“Why am I drawn to these glasses?”—the continuation.

Good evening. This is Matsushima from cantáte.

The other day, I shared an Instagram Story video of a restaurant that no longer exists. One thing a staff member said in it has remained strangely vivid in my mind.

“We don’t do anything without meaning.”

It’s only a few words, but the moment I heard them, I was reminded of 10 eyevan.

In fact, the eyevan team are also customers of cantáte.

Of course we talk about glasses, but we may spend more time talking about clothing and craftsmanship.

Perhaps there is some underlying connection between us.

There are many professionals around me.

Some are chefs, some watchmakers, some leatherworkers, and some photographers. What they make is completely different, but the truly fascinating people have something in common.

If you ask, there is always a reason.

Why that material? Why that method of construction? Why those specifications?

Of course, I think some decisions are made intuitively. But when you listen to the explanation, that intuition has almost always grown from years of accumulated experience, and it’s surprisingly rare to receive the answer, “It just felt right.”

It’s the same with clothing,

Things that ultimately look beautiful aren’t made with the aim of looking beautiful from the outset.

There is a reason first, and beauty emerges as a result.

I’m drawn to things like that.

I think it was about eight years ago. At an event, Morimoto-san from eyevan, whom many of you know,

“We’ll solve all the problems you’ve had with glasses up to now.”

I was once told that.

To be honest, I was skeptical at the time.

After all, I’ve worn glasses continuously since I was a child.

I had always taken it for granted that glasses would leave marks on my nose, that their screws would loosen, and that they would gradually slip out of place as I wore them. I thought there was no such thing as glasses that could solve those problems.

But now I think about it.

Oh, it really was true.

Before I knew it, I had gone eight years without tightening the screws.

To be precise, I had encountered glasses that never needed their screws tightened again for the first time.

As I also wrote in my previous blog,

The reasons lie in things like the Torx screws, beta titanium, and the various components of 10 eyevan.

But what I’m thinking about now isn’t that the screws or the construction are impressive in themselves.

I think that’s the result of Designer Nakagawa-san, Sales Representative Morimoto-san, and the others refusing to do anything without meaning.

Spending time on details that would normally be overlooked. Accumulating differences that almost no one notices. And every single one has a reason.

That’s why they feel good to use, and why they last so long.

I make clothes, so I understand that very well.

The shape of a collar, the finishing of seam allowances, the choice of interlining—if you don’t explain them, no one may notice. But if you neglect those details, the overall impression will inevitably change.

In the end, I think that’s what craftsmanship is all about.

That’s why, when I talk about clothing, I sometimes ask about the other person’s profession. If they’re a chef, I use cooking as an analogy; if they like watches, I compare it to watches. It gets the point across better.

If I simply talk about clothing, it can be difficult to convey. But when someone wants to know, I want to explain it as clearly as I can.

And what’s truly interesting is that the more professional someone is, the more readily they understand the finer details.

Because I think about the same things in my own work.

Why do it at all?

Why spend so much time on that?

Why be so particular?

There is a common language.

I think that’s probably also why I like 10 eyevan.

It’s not just because they’re comfortable to wear. Nor is it only because they look good.

I empathize with what the people behind them believe in.

In the end, I’m only interested in people who have truly wrestled with things.

How much they have struggled, how many detours they have taken, and how many times they have failed.

Things like that somehow show through in what people make, and are conveyed even without explanation.

That’s what makes it interesting, and that’s why I want to hear their stories.

Who made it matters more than what they made.

And what kind of work that person has done. That’s what I find myself looking at.

 

I previously wrote a blog post about 10 eyevan’s components and design. If you haven’t read it yet, please take a look at that one too.

📎“Why am I drawn to these glasses?” — I put the reason into words.

Screws, balancers, cross bridges, and shell pads. The thinking of people who never do anything without a purpose is packed into those details as well.

 

 

And now, an announcement.

From June 12 to 28, we will be holding a 10 eyevan MORE VARIATION event at cliché.

I’ll be at the store with Morimoto-san on the 20th and 21st.

To be honest, the things I wrote about in this blog aren’t just about glasses.

Why those specifications?
Why that shape?
Why go that far?

I hope we can choose glasses together while having that kind of conversation.

If you can come, let’s continue the kind of conversation I wrote about today!

 

cantáte Matsushima Shin