EYES

'Return to Sender', a project of letter-writing created by Maartje (right) is what led her to create one of her most meaningful connections with her close friend Robbe (left). Two years after their first exchange, here they were at our shop looking for each other’s Bidules.

Maartje wears a demi-amber Galaxie frame by C.I.O. that she describes as the perfect combination of nerdy-hot, and undeniably hers.

She bathes in the artistic field both as a studio assistant and as an artist and writer herself. She’s also one very quirky collector with a fascination for clown and jester paraphernalia. Imagine her finds and other eclectic oddities decorating the mantelpiece of her bedroom book nook… And if you get a chance to talk, pull out a notebook and ask about cooking, there’s some quite interesting tricks up her sleeve too!

Robbe wears a 1970’s acetate pilot frame by Grosfilley. As a now pilot-wearer, he’s been the victim of the infamous ‘Dahmer’ comment more than once, but he always takes it lightly. Except this one time when some drunk strangers at his workplace kept nagging him about it. So he eventually just watched them sloppily slip and fall over spilled beer, and got a few laughs himself. Karma?

He’s also passionated by art, music and DJs with friends. Maybe you’d want to check out his set at Cité du Dragon with Tobin. Just like Maartje, there’s a few strange little objects he likes to hold on to. And not to forget, he’s super into : “Birds. wow.”.

'Wake up early, then take your time.'' People's days change, you know, day by day they do. So do mine.'
Wise words, Robbe.

When Tomohide came by following his girlfriend’s advice, our FRONTs project was barely emerging out of its cocoon, yet we sensed the kinship was pretty much instant.

Tomohide is a pattern maker at Dries Van Noten and a devoted father: he’s created his very own project called Only One Garment, about the pieces of clothing he crafts for his son to wear. He’s actually wearing his own hand-made vest that matches his boys' here.

The FRONT mod.Gargoyle that’s currently sitting on his nose is made by Mathias, of fully hand-reshaped and reassembled ‘spare’ parts including 1970’s acetate temples and a 1950’s antique celluloid demi-amber front, which gave its name to the collection. He caught a glimpse at the workshop, and as an artisan himself, Tomohide reciprocated the same kind of attention and excitement we have explaining the project and process, and we gotta to say it felt amazing. This was, we think, maybe the second FRONT being done… We’re extremely happy to see they are one someone as captivating as he is.

Gabriel is a law student with a strong penchant for contemporary art, which goes in perfect contrast with his 1960’s ‘Anna’ combinated gold-filled frame with an amber-brown brow by L’AMY (Morez, Jura, FR). He’s been wearing glasses since the age of 1, so we’re pretty sure this isn’t his first frame, but he says it is the first time he can see his eyebrows while wearing them. ‘It was a very nice surprise’.

adjustable nosepads + right bridge size = brows
CQFD

He’s a city wanderer with a pretty thorough routine going all around the city center with plenty of gallery stops along the way. We thought sharing his favorite itinerary could be nice, should we organize a group trip?

• MOK coffee
• MAD
• Stems gallery
• Meessen gallery
• Almine Rech gallery
• Wiels
  🏃‍♂️ No transportation planned here, so get hydrated and put some comfy shoes on. You can pop by the shop for a quick adjustment and a water bottle refill, it’s on the way.

Michael wears 2 very different pairs from Oyonnax (Ain, FR).

He is the lucky owner of a rare 8mm shaped 3-rivets acetate from the 1960s found in the middle of our SOLO/Grosfilley stock. The day he met Tom for a portrait he was rocking his more-casual-still-formal round Grasset from the early 1990s tho.

Michael is a specialist technician at the theatre where he does light design. He is passionate about incorporating renewable materials into his work. It’s always refreshing for us to run into people in completely different fields who are applying the same principles that we do at Bidules. Cheers Michael!

Well, when you buy the ENTIRE dead-stock from a closed down factory, inevitably, you discover many of the same frames, but also some rarer pieces. Amongst the estimated 6,000 frames we brought back from Dommege that day, there only happened to be a handful of these bi-color FOCA 8091 from the early days of production circa 1960s. We couldn’t let them go to just anyone. They had to be the perfect fit. And that’s where Oxfam fundraiser Markus comes into this. Living in Brussels, he’s not much of a collector, but he loves second-hand things. He’s worn glasses since he was fourteen, but his daughter-in-law -who once remarked he looked ‘cool’ in Ray Bans- thought he should check out Bidules for his next pair. We think FOCAs fit him much better. You’ll find Markus at Caberdouche, Place de la Liberté, with a craft beer, or more than likely, just chilling in his garden in Saint-Josse.

For those that don't know him yet, Mickey is the co-founder and head of programming at Kiosk Radio in Parc Royal, just up the road from Bidules. Kiosk and Bidules opened basically at the same time (a time when opening up a shop/kiosk in this part of 1000 Brussels was not the most obvious choice) and we have to say it was reassuring – and still feels great – to have them nearby. Many of our visitors and friends overlap! You can regularly find us there having a beer or tea after we close up shop.

As with many clients, he entered the store eager to find a pair of glasses to wear occasionally, and after the eye exam realized he should be wearing them all the time. He opted for something discrete, so much so that his oldest friends thought he'd been wearing glasses for years.

When he's not in the park managing the beloved sauna-radio, you can find him enjoying an ingenious cocktail at Modern Alchemist, or hunting down records and comics in the dusty corners of the city.

It only took us 5 minutes to know we shared at least 3 things with Cedric (1992, Abidjan) : our unconditional love for digging, a connexion with Shungu and a irrepressible excitement when our eyes meet a pair of titanium Bugatti frames produced by ODO (Jura, FR) in the early 2000s. Most known under the guise of African Diplomat, this Brussels based record collector and radio host at Bruzz Radio immediately fell in love with these shading lenses and sharp lines. Fair enough.

Two more eyes! This is Alessandro. He wears the Bugatti mod.495 in silver manufactured by ODO (early 2000s – Morbier, FR).

We had a chat with the Verona-born, Brussels-based architect. He co-founded Every Island, a design collective which has built up a portfolio of intriguing installations, interventions, and residencies around Belgium since its inception in 2021.

Alessandro doesn’t consider himself a collector, at least not a thematic one. Instead he focuses on gathering objects and materials that are weird and ambiguous, with the aim of making some sense or connection between them.

Pictured here is one of the projects he’s most proud of, an installation/performance titled Welcome: (a) ceremony, which took place at StamEuropa, an abandoned office building in the EU quarter.

Thanida wears a transparent mod. Capucine by Grasset made in the 1970s (Oyonnax, FR) back in the days when GRASSET was still Maurice Grasset.

Thanida is an office manager and architecture student living in Ixelles. She chose this model and we manually reheated and reshaped the frames in the lab to her liking. When she's out and about, you can find her at Monticelli, a family-owned Italian deli in St. Gilles, or going for a walk with her cat at L'abbaye de la Cambre.

Self-confessed bookworm Laurie, is addicted to books - whether they’re old or new, you’ll find them everywhere in her home; in bed, in the bathroom, even in the kitchen. A visual and textual storyteller, she writes and paints striking images on large canvases. She discovered Bidules on the way to "La Loge" for an exhibition. Luckily, they took a long detour to appreciate a rare spot of good weather and found us as well. Finally, we can thank the Belgian weather for something. If her 1960s MMLO look a little familiar to you, it might be because they’re almost the same pair as the perfumer of "Le Chardon Bleu" in Agnes Varda's film "Le Daguerréotypes"! We think they suit her even better. She’s happiest spending time on her balcony in the evening but you might also find her chasing the best chicken in town at Maison Liénard on Rue Washington. 

Wendy wears an unmarked demi-amber from our SOLO/Grosfilley stock we brought from Oyonnax (Ain) in 2020. Although its teardrop shape kind of has a 1980's vibe to it when the frame is worn low like that, its 3-rivet hinges and 'coque' shape make us think it has been made in the 60's or early 70's. Nice twist!

On collecting: she loves La Place du Jeu de Balle in the Marolles to collect what has been invading her apartment for a few years now: BOCH dishware. Especially the 'pastel' kind, made between 1955 and 1970.

After her porcelain digging sesh, a quick coffee at Le Chaff or the Libraire Météores is on the list. But as soon as Septembercomes and the leaves start to fall, it's the terrasse of the library Ici sont les lions that has her heart.

'L'utopie c'est d'être au travail' - a quote that translates her daily life working as co-director at the famously creative and collective ERG school in Brussels.

For the next portrait in our EYES series, two kind souls with some words and frames to live by...

Daniel wears a model K004 by Omomuki – Japan. Made of high quality titanium, they are brushed in antique gold. 1990s vintage.
Daniel is a collector by nature: vinyls, CDs, books, plushies, Salomon sneakers... he caught the habit from his mom. When it comes to food in Brussels, you can find him savoring pastéis from Garcia and Italian dishes at Eccetera.
Life motto –
"A house should be clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy."

Liouba wears an unknown model by Maurice Grasset – Oyonnax, France. They were manufactured in the 1970s in crystal clear acetate.
Liouba is an illustrator and musician. Brussels tip: the staircase shortcut for the bridge at Germoir. We tried it and its awesome.
Life motto –
"Follow your heart but don't forget to bring your brain, too."

Laura has worn glasses since she was a teenager, though she once lost her glasses on a trip and ended up not wearing any for the last five years. These Aeroline were a gift from her boyfriend - they popped into Bidules after lunch with friends - 'lucky they were there - it would have taken me 5 days to choose'. Given the result and the chat we had, we are the ones feeling lucky. You might find Laura sipping a craft beer at Dekkara or on a stroll at the Wiels marsh.

Laura divides her time between audio-visual projects and awareness campaigns for social and environmental issues. The day after the first lockdown in 2020, the member of the 254forest creative collective also created "Isola", a project that takes you on a journey into invisible worlds. We warmly recommend to check out the second and latest episode called SOMOS. A beautiful visual podcast created in collaboration with Transkids and Lydie Nesvadba that gives voice to 13 trans, non-binary, or gender creative youngsters aged nine to twenty-seven who are deconstructing standards and affirming their identities.

Nathalie is a journalist from Geel, Belgium. We asked if there's anything she likes to collect, and we found the response very original. Here's Nathalie, on her collection of gift wrapping paper:

"Collecting gift wrapping paper is an old habit that I picked up from my godmother who's austerity is probably emblematic for Belgium's pre-WWII generation. To the great annoyance of whoever offers me a present, every gift I get is unwrapped very slowly and precisely, saving the wrapping paper that I will delicately flatten and fold before looking at the gift. Beautiful paper will get reassigned to a special drawer for a new occasion. Everything collides in this small gesture: I love receiving gifts as much as I love carefully wrapping and giving them, keeping and one day maybe reusing wrapping paper passes on that joy."

This summer, she came to us ready to ditch her contact lenses for good in favor of the right pair of frames. Now she wears the transparent mod. Annecy by Grasset, from Oyonnax circa 1990 – so light, almost seamless. 

She works as an architect and likes to collect books, her favorite subject being the charming and wacky city of Brussels itself. 

So, what's her local Brussels tip? The massive, romantic-yet-fear-inducing works in the Wiertz Museum. We did some research into Wiertz after our conversation with Kaat. Wikipedia states: "Some of his works are erotic and macabre and presage Belgian Symbolism..." and "At his request, his remains were embalmed in accordance with Ancient Egyptian burial rites..." Sounds like another Belgian character for the books... 

At Bidules, it's hard to beat the feeling when our clients bring their dad/mom/sister/coworker/kid/friend/etc. to the shop. For this edition of the EYES series, say hallokes to this father-daughter duo: Celine (Brussels, 1990) and Paul (Ternat, 1961) from Asse, Belgium.

We spent such a nice moment in the store with them, and thought they made two excellent selections. Celine is wearing the 1960s MMLO model manufactured by the Morezienne de Lunetterie et d'Optique in Jura, France. Paul is wearing 1980s gold-filled Desil Pilots manufactured in Domegge, Italy.

When she's not working in production for Bruzz, Celine makes cool fuzzy punch-needled carpets on the side. When Paul's not busy as an architect, he told us that his favorite side project is his kids :')

Like any self-respecting Saint-Gilles dweller, in normal times, you'd be sure to bump into Léa (1994, Saint-Germain en Laye) at Le Flora . She first heard of Bidules on game night, whilst cheering for Royal Union Saint-Gilloise - oh, how we miss those nights with friends and chance encounters.

The first pair of frames she chose from the store were the Bourgeois 2045 (1990s, Morbier), which she lost, coming back to pick up two more pairs - in prescription and sunnies. As here with her L’Amy (1980s, Morez).

Ow, since we are here, any chance you've spotted this custom bike around town? We heard it's also gone missing. Help a girl out.

Hybrid architect, Tuur popped into Bidules after seeing Roger Raveel's retrospective exhibition at BOZAR just across the road. His Selecta mod. Jack (USA), 1960s frames are a total match - and even though they’re his first pair of glasses, he's rooting for a lifetime of companionship.

With a background in architectural studies, he’s often intrigued by objects that combine functionality with aesthetics (that sounds familiar!). In the unlikely scenario that his apartment were on fire, you'd find him running outside with his 'Il Conico' water kettle from the Italian post-modernist architect Aldo Ross! On second thought, it would probably be more useful to extinguish the flames...

He grew up in a small rural village in the Flemish Region - so he’s proud of the life he’s carved out in Brussels. You’re sure to bump into him in RILE the avant-garde book store, or FIRMA, a co-working space he works from for young creatives and designers.

Next time you swing by the store, he also recommends checking out the side entrance of the Ravenstein Gallery to the right of us - it has some beautiful ceiling frescos.

Zoe and Naser, are both collectors in their own way. Self-confessed hoarder Zoe used to love going to summer flea markets with her mum when she was young, and since she now works as a set decorator and prop buyer, she can get paid for her finds.

Naser adds some minimalism to their partnership. He likes living with as little as possible, but as a photographer he loves to pick up various different cameras to experiment with. For Zoe’s latest project,  where she curates and sells ‘wonky’ second-hand clothing, his clean photography helps soften the chaos.

You’ll find them in Parc Josaphat, for its magical trees and perfectly constructed romanticism...

Sophie dropped by the store after spotting us on her way to get tattooed (s/o STIB), and we’re so glad she did - the sixties curves of these acetate Lafont Symphonie (Morez, 1990s) are the perfect fit to her joyful smile.

Always one to be a little different - she loves to collect vintage or exotic fabrics, and remembers her mother telling her that people in the past were wearing the same old things as we do now...

A lover of Ixelles, you’ll find her picking up some good advice along with her cheese at Declerc Delicatesse, or strolling down Chaussée d'Ixelles on their way to/from O'Roots, best syrian food in town!

Hugo (1993, Beauvais) first came to us wanting some glasses that were less noticeable and smaller than the ones he had. Ok then.

After a few discussions (where we attentively watched our tongues), we eventually introduced the speech therapist to these light Kinto 2000 made in Belgium in the early... 2000s.
Luckily for us he didn't need any more words - as soon as he put them on it was a perfect match.

Later, he confessed to us that these glasses are actually so discreet that often he can’t find them. Not guilty!

Ne regarde pas l’endroit où tu es tombé, regarde plutôt l’endroit où tu t’es cogné.”

Mika is a filmmaker, DJ, and animator at Ateliers Indigo.She wears the Foca 758 (Domegge, Cadore - IT) from the 1980s. This past year was full of exciting projects, including finishing her first short film ‘Ruby, Alia, Ritchy’ and many interesting music collaborations.

She came to Bidules looking for something chic yet sturdy. Her friend Martijn, her dad, and pup Copolla came along to help with the big decision.

As for local recommendations: Place Morichar, St Kilda, Cinematek, Waka Waka, and Recyclart.

Julien takes his glasses very seriously - like these Opaline 5046s, made by our homies at Netoptic (Lot - BE) in the 1980s. The illustrator discovered Bidules on his way downtown to pick up art supplies downtown.

Despite living in Elsene for almost a decade, there’s still something about his old neighborhood’s football team RWDM that moves him. Just like us, he loves to geek out - but instead of frames, for him it’s collecting memorabilia and vintage football shirts.

When the restrictions relax, you’re sure to find him in Sint-Gillis, at Nuovo Brussels , his favourite italian restaurant or at Le Dillens . Oh, and his friends built a brewery together - so you’ll also find him at their bar for top notch craft beer at L'Ermitage.  

If you’re quick enough, you may have a chance to spot Catherine riding her bicycle at full speed on Boulevard du Botanique. The founder of Les Disques Lexi, a 7-inch records label, explained to us that a guy fell in love with her as she was playing records with the Pneu crew at Café Central years ago. They became friends. Years after, when she changed glasses, he admitted he was actually in love with her frames. Hope the gold-filled ESSEL (1960s, Morez) she wears now will break some hearts too.

We're putting the spotlight here on our neighbor, Café Boudin. Founder and owner Alice is wearing the FOCA PP15.

When she's not at the café whipping up oat lattes and vegan banh mì, she's into crocheting, fermenting all sorts of foods, and collecting coffee bean packaging from around the world.

Café Boudin specializes in ethically sourced specialty coffee and homemade vegan treats. We were delighted when they opened just a few doors away on Rue Ravenstein because we don't have so many healthy options available nearby. We've consumed kilos of cookies and liters of kombucha from them ever since.

Alice's take on a perfect Brussels afternoon:

"Café Boudin and Bidules are located a few meters away, so I think a perfect afternoon would consist of: having a delicious coffee at Boudin, trying on new glasses at Bidules, and going to see an exhibition at Bozar. We have a nice 'B' thing going on over here!"

No, these frames aren’t just for Jordan’s look - he’s been wearing glasses since he was seven. It may have taken him a while to embrace his style as a teenager and find the right frames, especially when it came to the opposite sex, but he soon found his flex.
A trainee tattooist studying graphic design, he launched his TRYBAL tattoo project earlier this year, practically overnight. He creates hand-poked or machine tattoos - take a look at his recent Ghibli anime flash.
When he swings by the store his style is edgy yet clean, he likes to push the boundaries of the vintage pieces he wears in a way that deflects from their main purpose. A few of his friends recommended Bidules thanks to its DNA.
On this shot by Victor Pattyn Jordan wears his Welt Pantos, made by Castellani (Dommege di Cadore, circa 1980).

Masked, we advance.

Mexico-born, Belgium-based Emmanuel is an artist, tailor, and sculptor who fashions intricate masks that question the spectacle of perfection and how we perform the social norms imposed on us.

Glasses can be seen as a sort of mask. Sometimes, people might want to 'hide' behind their glasses. But with the right pair and right fit, glasses can also connect us to something authentic within. We think this pair (Jacques Fath, Oyonnax - 1970s) has managed to do that.

We found 5 pairs, but they've all been claimed by beautiful new faces. By the way, these are the thickest acetate frames we've ever seen: 15mm on top!

Louise (Blois, 1984) is a huge collector. Or maybe we should say hoarder. It’s probably in her blood - since she took over her father’s (still growing) matchbox collection when she was just a kid. Over the years, she’s built up collections of phone cards, plastic bags, toothbrushes, key rings, keys, glasses, cat's whiskers, frozen insects, stone rocks, shells...

Well, we can’t judge her for collecting glasses now, can we? Back when we were hiding in our Anderlecht lab she was super curious about Bidules so she came by to find out more about our trips and glasses. We’re sure we owe her a lot for spreading the word with our good old stickers.

Louise's worn glasses since the age of 8 - think François Derome's slightly oval glasses, with green and purple spots, it was the 90s!- and remembers being super proud to show her (albeit, uninterested) friends.

Her frames are now as much a part of her as anything - when she first started dating her boyfriend and thought she’d try contacts, he didn’t even recognise her, and suddenly backed away when she tried to kiss him, thinking he was facing a very enterprising stranger!

On a sunny day, you’ll find her in the lush and quiet medicinal plant garden of the Maison d'Erasme, or in Parc de la Pede, Nerpeede Valley, where she spent her lockdown. Dreamy.

If you don't recognise Aisha (1992, Montréal) from her name, maybe her face rings a bell. If not, wait to hear her endearing accent or one of her sets. You got it. She's the one who was behind the deck for our 1 year anniversary party - better known as Gayance.

She's heavily involved in the music scene from Canada to Belgium, whilst embracing her power as a Black woman, working hard to empower others on the fight against injustice and misogynoir.

She came to us looking for glasses that would match her flamboyant personality, "but, y'know, also glasses to help me check out cute dudes from a distance without having to squint". Better be warned.

Quentin’s eyes met our NOMAD in the store’s window, and since that fateful moment, we could’ve introduced him to a thousand frames, he wouldn’t have changed his mind.

Love at first sight, they said.

But it was a risky attraction, as this particular NOMAD (early 2000s, Morez) custom isn’t for every face. Luckily for him, it perfectly matched his haircut. Even when he bleached his hair orange.

We swapped them for - 109€ and - his Sint-Gillis top 3 spots :
- Parlor Coffee - 'The best coffee shop, best baristas, best milk foam in town'
- Belladona Bar 'The sexiest place I know.'
- 'Walking Rue Vanderschrick at the end of a summer’s day'

For our next portrait in the EYES series, say hi to Clara. She wears the butterfly-ish Victory 6 (USA, 1960s). We don’t know the brand or model, we found them with Ets. Grosfilley / SOLO stock – they could have been manufactured by them, or kept by them as an inspiration εїз

Clara co-organizes the LGBTQIAP+ film festival Pink Screens , which she describes as a place of encounter and fun. She feels proud to be able to offer this moment of visibility to the queer community!

She says she doesn’t collect, she accumulates. Sneakers, watches, bags, beautiful books, tattoos. Who can relate?

Clara, on her pair of frames:

“I wanted very original glasses. I wanted them to be a real accessory, a beautiful object that would set me apart. I tried on a lot of pairs, and they were all too small for my face. Eventually Bidules suggested this amazing pair. I think they are super huge for my face but I had a crush… Two days later they were on my nose!”

Tout est bon dans le jambon.

That is the motto of our friend Edward here. He wears demi-blond square acetate frames with gold-filled hinges, most likely made in Oyonnax in the late 1950s. He is a translator for the EU by trade and an art/furniture collector by heart. Below is an epic list of Brussels highlights – some real gems in there!

• Maison Lienard in Rue Washington for the best chicken in town
• Basin & Marot in Rue du Page for natural wines
• Le Pavillon in Rue Defacqz, for feeling like you're at grandma's for supper
• Les Petits Riens - Retro Paradise for original and unique garments from the 70s and 80s of exceptional quality
• Établissement d'en face for a fantastic contemporary and avant-garde art space

You’ll have to forgive Nora (1992, Strasbourg) for her hatred of glasses as a teen. Well, to be fair, they didn’t quite work with her ‘look’ of greasy hair and braces, and were a little too encouraged by her parents to ever be cool... She came to us seeking a pair of frames a little less like her father’s, and luckily, these days she doesn’t have to ditch them around the corner from her parent’s house anymore. Now she wears her own oval Fidela frames (Morez, late 90s)A fashion design student at La Cambre, she uses style to challenge the contradictions of her personality, balancing religion, female liberation and her Kurdish heritage. As an artist, she embraces the community, and loves to see her friends live out their passions to the full, so she’s given a few to follow : Lucie Vanesse, who opened Madeleine Couture her sewing school in Forest whilst studying her Masters in Art ; Juliette Fuhs architect and scenographer at the environmentally responsible at Atelier Craft in Paris, a creative practice that revolves around art, architecture and design ; Anna Diallo in Berlin who released her first EP Femme Alpha under her artist name Seleminga. Then make sur to check out Hug The Rug, Nora’s 2020 collection.

We can be pretty sure that every day we’ll see Arnaud (1975, Paris) riding up the street on his bike, risking his life to wave us an energetic hello.

He’s probably the customer we see most - even if it’s just through the window, but this BX1 systems engineer doesn’t collect glasses. For now, he’s stayed faithful to his trusty 60s aluminium Burris Manhattans, half gold-filled and half brushed aluminium.

They're not the kind of treasure you find every day, and not what everyone would dare to wear, but neither is he a guy that'd be afraid of bright and bold lines.

Don't be fooled. Behind that casual attitude and her KINTO 8011 frames (80s, Belgium) hides a power woman. Victoria is the co-founder of the Canada-Mathare Education Trust (CMETrust), an entirely volunteer-run charity. Back in 2005, this now marine biologist Pew travelled to Nairobi, Kenya for an internship at the United Nations Environment Programme headquarters. She began volunteering in a primary school in Mathare. When she returned to Canada, she asked herself what she could do to continue supporting Mathare’s youth and help them facing the many issues related to poverty and lack of education. After some discussions and reflections, CMETrust was born, providing secondary school scholarships for Kenyan youth since 13 years.

Victoria now runs the business from Belgium and is simultaneously engaged in another battle : trying to raise empathetic, resilient kids. We already met her 6 years-old girl, while she joined her mother for the Nutcracker ballet at BOZAR. All we can say is that she's on the right track to become as strong as her mom.

How romantic is it to play video games all night long on a comfy couch with your brother, huh? Ok, enough for the cheesy part.⁣⁣

We already knew Vincent as a friend of our former optician, who naturally sent him to the store. While we cooked up this guy with our questions, trying to figure out what kind of frames would suit him best, he gave us a good reason to see him again: Vincent works as an assistant chef at Oldboy. Chances are you already saw him sweating his ass off in the open-kitchen of this South Asian street food Eldorado.⁣

Some family dinners later, he finally convinced his younger brother Florian to come by and take what appeared to be a needed eye-test. For his very first pair of glasses, the 3D designer went for this gold Fidela 739 (Morez, FR - 1990s), different in shape from the KINTO 2004 (Saintes, BE - 2000s) his brother wears, but going together as their grey hoodies do.

When he first swang by the store, Dries was heading home after a lunch at the BOZAR restaurant. In all honesty, besides his activities for l’Escritoire, it seems like Dries is heading in or out of a restaurant every time we meet. You should hear him talk about wine and deli meats to understand that the guy doesn’t consider the art of the table as laughing matter.

By the way, if you’re ever in the Upper Meuse Valley, go have a drink at the Cerf Vert, the bar he opened on the Dinant Riviera. 

After we crossed Fedra's determined eyes, we weren't that surprised when she explained she was team leader at BOZAR. Therefore she's also the woman next door. As we speak, she isn't working on her PHD in photography but must rather be trying to attract as many birds as possible in her garden. When she came across the shop, she really needed a new pair of glasses to spy them peep into the trees.

Stefano is our neighbor, but he’s also the executive chef of the VICTOR Bozar Café. We’re now used to see him come by the shop several times a week during his break, to tell us a story or try on a few pairs of glasses.

One day, he asked us to slow him down on his cravings for glasses, so we asked him to slow us down on our cravings for Orechiette alla Norma. A healthy, neighbourly relationship all in all.

When Yaqine passed by Bidules, we immediately clicked. And to be honest, we never completely knew if we preferred talking photography or glasses with her.

The only true challenge was to find a pair that would fit her prescription and light enough to be worn 24.7. Because there’s no Yaqine.Raw without glasses. Let’s be clear, her life is no stroll in the park – rather a remake of Roadrunner on film. Things go fast for the one who founded Visual Poetry together with the singer and rapper Martha Da’ro and won the Best Music photographer award at the Redbull Elektropedia awards 2019.

Florence came to us before leaving on several construction sites in Nepal for non-profits. We couldn’t mess it up. Last we heard of her, she was preparing yet another trip around the world. All this to say that her Bourgeois frames will travel places! But isn’t that the point of it all? If you’re reading, don’t hesitate to come by the store for a full check-up before packing your suitcase.

Picture this: Corentin had missed the target as he tried to nonchalantly throw his glasses on the bed, while Louise's glasses could no longer withstand the temperatures of the ovens of the restaurant where she reigns supreme. On their way to a Parquet Courts gig at the Botanique last summer, they stopped by the store. We almost had to throw them out, the concert had been sold out for a while, and the riffs of the 4 New Yorkers are definitely our thing.

After swallowing the pill, we sat down at the table: on the menu, two discreet pairs packed with character nonetheless, made more than 30 years apart in the same Jura valley. No hard feelings.

Calvin was one of the first to enter the store with a pair of glasses he digged himself. It was just a few weeks after the opening, and he wasn’t sure we would accept to restore his Lacoste S7 and edge lenses for it, as the frame didn’t come from our own stock. 

Back in the days, Lacoste frames were manufactured under license by L’Amy in Morez. So it was quite the reverse though : to be honest we were just jealous to not have discovered those double bridge metallic frames ourselves

Valeria lost her previous glasses during an extended weekend in Barcelona, while on a perfect summer trip in the Balkans. They experiment countless planes, trains, buses, tent sleepovers and even a hippy bay in Albania, but they didn't survive a commercial disco club in Barceloneta. If they hadn't run away from her, she wouldn't have encounter her new pair.

By that time, we also heard she got a baby. Congrats !

We won’t lie, sometimes we simply fail to get enough informations while racking our brains and memories to write a proper bio months after the encounter. That’s the game, and we prefer to say it straight rather than to make stories up about someone. Fake news are bad, you should know that.

The most important : Jasmine once entered the store and left with her perfect match, a hexagonal gold Symphony in that case.

We met the film director in Berlin back in 2017, during the Adidas Skate Copa. He swang by our first workshop in Anderlecht a few weeks later. We chatted for 3 hours, he chose his glasses in 3 minutes.

Since then, alongside his films, he has put together particlelife.com, an online platform gathering his friends' photo work, mainly around skateboarding culture : “The main criteria is that I have to know the photographers in person and that their images I select ‘do’ something to my gut feeling.”We’re head over heels, plain and simple !

It’s on a rather drunk kayak session in Dinant that Richard confessed having lost his previous pair of glasses. Gone forever deep inside the water. Riding a kayak without glasses on a Belgian river isn’t that bad, but riding his 1971 Peugeot in the streets of Brussels can be more of a problem.

This is when the student in design and furniture and barkeeper at the Flamingo in Brussels thought it was time to pay us a visit. We found him the perfect pair. Cherry on the cake, it matched his hair.

Would you be surprised if we tell you Michaël’s first visit to the store was mainly initiated by a Belgian rapper ? He was in between two spoons of Kellogs when he discovered us while checking Caballero’s Instagram Stories. Not sure about the composition of the breakfast though, maybe this tall administrative agent is more of a crispy bacon & beans kind of guy, but that’s how we love to picture the scene.

Meet Camille.

She wears the 343 Bugatti in matte gold, inspired by the egg-shaped radiator-grill from the famous automobile. We love this pick because they make a bold statement while also remaining subtle and refined.

Camille is a tattoo artist at MUE and is obsessed with all the history and technique she’s learning. Off-duty you can find her at Phare du Canal or Cafe Walvis.

The cofounders of Studio Opla were our architects-next-door before we moved to the city centre. Over the bunch of quiche slices we shared at La Kantine Du Canal, we felt for their perspectives on architecture and lifecycle of materials, not to mention all the Portuguese food spots they recommended us. ⁣

One day, we sneaked into their office and dropped our selection of frames on their desks, without a word.
Apparently, it was a homerun.

We won’t lie, sometimes we simply fail to get enough informations while racking our brains and memories to write a proper bio months after the encounter. That’s the game, and we prefer to say it straight rather than to make stories up about someone. Fake news are bad, you should know that.

The most important : Bruyneel once entered the store and left with her perfect match, a thick black Symphony in that case. And look how happy they seem to be.

Loïc is more of the mobile type. With Highway Holidays (tour supply & logistics), he’s managing the most punk travel agency of the Kingdom. Given that he rides at least as many miles as a Belarusian truck driver, his love for sunglasses was quite understandable -- and we loved that.

Meet Valentin and Amélie, respectively born and raised in Vendée and Normandy. They both turned up at the shop and I remember we talked about comics, had a good laugh; Valentin was sporting orange glasses from his teenage years because his former frames had just given up the ghost, while Amélie still holds the record for the smallest pupil distance ever measured at the shop. You don’t care ? Fair enough.

If you stumble upon these two, whether for the release of their fanzine Vague Pression (novels, comics, drawing) in spring or in a bookshop around Flagey, ask Valentin how he lost his last pair of glasses. All he could tell us was that it involved a nocturnal paranormal event...

When he is not howling with the Union Boys, Charles acted as optometrist-in-chief at the shop and helped us overcome the most technical challenges. Hard to believe we met barely three year ago. Back then, he was working with our competition and sneaked in our workshop one night to get himself a pair of custom-made sunglasses, on the sly. We talked for an hour, he asked why we didn’t open a shop. I answered that I never met the optician to team up with. He never left.

Until the day he finally did for the sweet sun of France. If you stumble upon him, ask him to tell you about the Belgian cup quarter finals (2018).

We kind of love obsessive people and weird collectors. So when we met this rocks and minerals nerd, it triggered our curiosity. When we then discovered she listens to endless ambiant music playlists while thinking about her jewelry constructions, we felt in love.

Therefore we decided to join forces and obsessions with Shitika and she became the mind and hands behind our HYBRIDS series. For the past months, she has been an amazing workmate, and we can honestly say this Jewelry Designer from the Antwerp Academy got gold in her hands.

Here is a man that is rather difficult to describe, as his personal french pop project is already called Pierres au pluriel. Many Pierres, then, inside this comedian/french teacher/musician. Many Pierres, but one reason he headed to the store for the first time.

"April 28, 2018, approximately 3am. Most people who celebrated my 25th birthday went on to continue their night somewhere else. The last ones are gesticulating in my flat, when an arm touches my face and brings my glasses down. Fumbling in the dark, I find them lifeless under my foot. The morning after, a piece of Patafix plays the matchmaker between the left temple and the frame, and we continue as if nothing had happened, waiting for something better. For two months. Before giving up and heading to Bidules." More Pierres and more stories ? Go have a listen at his latest project.

We remember very well when Fabian first showed up at the store. Quite intrigued by the ultrasonic cleaner, we put his watch in. In the meantime, we learnt about his passion for kilims and Iranian Kurdistan. A passion he pursues through Pardis Tapis, a project he co-founded. Needless to say that hearing how they travelled to the most remote villages in Iran on the lookout for vintage kilims, their stories and the legends surrounding them, directly connected us.

Alice is getting her PhD in computer music (sick). She wears a FOCA (Domegge di Cadore, IT) from their early days, model unknown, color demi-blond. The fabricca was established in 1958.

On collecting:

“Not a collector, I usually stop before it becomes a collection. My grandfather was a compulsive collector, and he left us enough collections of all kinds to last several generations.” Fair enough!

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Alexis is a chef and runs the restaurant Les Bain Des Dames. Pictured here with the “WK mod.56” from Germany in the eighties, factory and complete brand’s name remain unknown.

His mother says he’s like a character from an 80s TV show… so looks like he chose the right pair!

Recommendation: Café Le Bonheur next to tram stop Berkendael

Yuva and Giacomo are all about getting people together by creating interactions around livestreams, rendez-vous, parties, art, exhibitions and more. Wait, did I just pitch his project Plein Sud? Whatever, that’s how we saw this tall Brusseleir when he passed by the shop last summer.

When he’s not busy dedicating his everything to Brussels’ nightlife culture, Giacomo is spending so much time at the shop we may have to blacklist him. First, because he loves glasses at least as much as we do, and second, because he has the worrying penchant to sit on them.

Anatole discovered the shop on his way to Beyond Klimt exhibition at BOZAR with his mom. When he entered, we had a long chat about the way we work and upcycle here. It was the perfect match, as he is attracted by fashion design and spends his free time creating material garments and wearable structures.

He sees his Carrera 5973 as the ever-faithful working partners. Always on his nose when he creates and writes, they help him polish the instinctive representations of his imagination.

Born and raised in Hasselt, Alexandra is now based in Brussels and works as a photographer and photo editor for De Standaard. When we met, she was busy reorganizing and digitalizing her archives – making a photobook of each and every one of her hard drives. For having had the courage to throw yourself into this painstakingly tedious task that some are postponing for a lifetime (including us), we wanted to express our wholehearted admiration.

Some of you may know already that on Saturdays, since we can’t head to a bar, we’re starting the aperitif with our clients and try to tempt them with a glass of wine or a beer from the Brasserie de la Senne. Coming out from another optician, more or less convinced, Didier didn’t see that coming. After making sure he wasn’t on tram duty that night, the STIB driver quickly found himself with a pair of glasses in one hand and a drink in the other.

Pictured here are the Murenzi brothers, wrapping up YellowStraps latest project. At the workshop, their first EP Whirlwind Romance had been on repeat in the “Bidules - Workflow” Spotify playlist since 2015. Needless to say we were more than thrilled to gear them up with glasses. Their upcoming project is called Goldress, and knowing what frame Yvan chose to come home with, we’re not that surprised about this gold color mania.

That’s the story of a customer who didn’t want to buy glasses, thought about getting a pair, ended up leaving with two, lost one of them and finally came back to buy one more. Nothing too unusual so far. But the most important detail of this story is that Estelle has left with the last pair of our Garrett (L’Amy, 1980s).⁣

And honestly, as every goodbye, that wasn’t easy.

You may have seen this guy already, having had a few drinks too many already, while he was preaching the word with his analog synthesizer under the mysterious name of Monolithe Noir. We met Antoine at the vinyl shop he was working at. He wanted to try glasses on. The sun was shining and we were sober. He made us discover Connan Mockasin and we got a parking ticket in the meantime.

We easily remember that sunny afternoon when we met Hervé for his portrait. It was just after he walked his faithful partner Enéa in Egmont Park (Ixelles).

While he was quietly rocking his very own round Mikado (1990s, Morez) as he is used to, we once again experienced the challenge of shooting a dog and trying to keep the Greyhound still. Challenged faced.

Finding the best possible frames for Filomena - here sitting by Salomé’s side, her G-daughter aka Blu Samu - was one of the highlights of 2018. A mom's hug to remember and the kind of encounters that make us wake up every morning.

Of course, we’ve seen Salomé at the shop a thousand of times since that day, as she seems as addicted to glasses than she is to hypnotizing rhymes.
Salomé, say hi to your mom for us and keep taking good care of her!

Say hi to London-born, Brussels-based choreographer Marco, who was passing by the shop a few days ago when a pair of 1970 Grosfilleys in the window caught his eye. He ended up leaving with a different pair of 1970s Grosfilleys with thickkk 8mm acetate , 3-rivet hinges, and hand-polished finishing. Grosfilley – always a good choice!