THE MONC BLOG

Three years ago, we opened our first store on Chiltern street. Over that time, we've won the Dezeen and Draper's awards for our store design and hosted intimate workshops with friends from The Caley Bros, the Botanical Boys and more. Explore all the ways our neighbours, friends and customers have made Chiltern Street our home.

By community, for community. GROW, agroecological farm based in North London, is powered by local volunteers and an appreciation for nature. Using agroecological techniques, they’re gradually enhancing soil health, biodiversity, and crop resilience, all while providing freshly grown produce.

A metal eyewear frame is made with 16 individual metal components. More often than not, each of these components are made in a varying countries and get shipped around the world for assembly, we do things differently. 

Introducing our most recent project, (RE)MADE - an experimental micro collection of one-of-a-kind designs, each made entirely of ‘waste’.

Tinted lenses are the perfect colourful compliment to any outfit, with a similarly colourful history, we thought we’d explore how tinted lenses went from rocks and minerals to the fashion statement accessories of today.

If you’ve been following our What We're Made of Series so far, you’ll be familiar with Mazzucchelli’s M49 bio acetate. A key material used as the base for 90% of our frames, M49 is composed of 68% natural and renewable materials.

When it comes to sourcing a bioacetate producer, there are two key considerations we take into account, quality and location. Fortunately for us, Mazzucchelli ticks both boxes. Founded in 1849, they've been honing their craft for 175 years, from button makers to material innovators.

We're starting our 'What we're made of' series with the material that makes up 90% of our frames; Bioacetate. A bit of an oxymoron, bioplastics are a hybrid plastic, but what makes them bio? And what are the pro's and con's of this material? Explore how we've broken it down, empowering you with facts and our vision for the future.

At this time of year, most of us will be wearing our favourite pair of sunglasses daily. With this in mind, we wanted to share a few simple tips to keep them looking as good as new.

Championing craftsmanship and finding the best local partners has always been a priority for us. Which is why for our hand-dyed tinted lenses, we sought out the best local experts based in North London. But what constitutes the perfect tint?

We want to go beyond just repairable design, and create a robust repair programme that challenges the industry status quo. Explore how our head of repairs fixes up the broken hinge on these Kallio frames.

In use since the birth of optics, mineral glass lenses have undergone several hundred years of innovation. It might seem...