Anne & Valentin
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Established in the 1980s by a “neo-hippie” optician named Valentin and a woman named Anne who went on to became Valentin’s business partner, wife and “soulmate,” the company’s aim is to design glasses that reflect their customer’s lives. Anne began sketching her own frames after having observed that she wasn’t able to find any that suited her. As part of this design process, she re-examined what was important about eyewear and translated her findings into playful and quirky designs.
In 1984, the company sent these sketches to be prototyped and subsequently launched the first collection in Toulouse, France. Production is now done primarily in Jura, France using a combination of machinery and a 30-step hand-cutting and finishing process.
