Pangea News: A story of talent and passion
Article by Pangea News
THEY MAKE COSTUME-MADE GLASSES. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THEM YOU HAVE TO GO TO TREVISO OR VENICE, THE WEB ISN'T ENOUGH.
One in a thousand? More! One in 15,000.
What does it means?
It means that there are 15 thousand stores in Italy that sell eyeglasses and sunglasses. They are everywhere, especially in shopping centers and they all sell the usual more or less fashionable and industrial brands. They are often sold with super discounts, mega deals and so on, by a mechanism similar to many other sectors in the era of mass-market.
Then there is Ottica in Barberia. It is not only a store but also a laboratory for the production of completely custom-made glasses. It is a startup born in 2018. The two owners, Marco Andreoni and Antonio Battaglia, have been working in the industry for almost all their lives.
If you go and check them out on Instagram you will quickly understand why they are unique. In fact, you will find videos with Antonio who - like a master watchmaker from the late 19th century - is at the workbench cutting, sawing, filing and building piece by piece the next pair of glasses to be delivered to the final customer. The stores have a window on the workshop table in order to let people watch the craftmanship working live. And every day for at least three or four hours you can enjoy him at work.
By sight, like to the kitchens of starred restaurants. By sight, like, says Marco smilingly, to the young ladies in the window in Amsterdam. Once you've observed the attention to detail that Antonio puts into it, the expertise of his craftsmanship and especially the end result he achieves, well... falling in love with the product is assured.
How did Marco and Antonio come to have such an original business?Passion is the answer, coupled with experience, craftsmanship and a love for Japanese cellulose acetate plates, these are the best for this type of eyewear.
Unlike the many Italian eyewear stores that propose industrial standardization, it often happens that the customer goes with them to the nearby osteria to have a good glass of wine while he chooses-catalog in hand-the acetate plate that best suits his taste.
Michele Mengoli