« There are few items as valuable and useful as glasses. ". When we know that 80% of the information that reaches us from the outside world passes through our eyes, we wouldn't want to entrust our glasses to just anyone. And why not to Bruno Chaussignand? The entrepreneur confided in La French Touch about what was, at the beginning, just a hobby. " Even as a child, I used to tinker with old glasses that I found in drawers, but without thinking of making a career out of it. ". And then one day, after a tennis match, the young man was talking to his opponent, whose uncle turned out to be an independent optician who was starting to integrate designer glasses into his business... that was the turning point. Eye exam, workshop creation, customer contact: Bruno Chaussignand discovered the profession.

Equinox model

After his scientific baccalaureate, he joined the Morez School of Optics in the Haut-Jura, a region considered the European cradle of eyeglass manufacturing (particularly with regard to the metal part, the town of Oyonnax in the Ain, which is more likely to focus on plastics). The apprentice surprised the jury during a manufacturing competition for young designers with a pair of glasses made from olive wood from Nyons, the town where he comes from, renowned for its olive groves. He would later make a name for himself in this market, which was already undergoing major changes in the 90s (in France, outsourcing was beginning to be considered). China and eyewear know-how is no exception), at the national level, then at the international.

Selling his eyewear brand internationally, an obvious choice for Bruno Chaussignand

Currently, Bruno Chaussignand is organized around two structures. One, based in Montpellier, is an optical store that targets the general public. The entrepreneur only offers designer glasses there, and claims an approach " quite exclusive » of its models. The other, dedicated to professional opticians, is based in Occitanie and Provence, and organizes the distribution of the glasses brand by 300 resellers in France and around the world, notably in the United States and Canada, where the company mainly generates its turnover.

How can we explain this appetite for North American markets? For Bruno Chaussignand, two things have enabled this success, the first being a small part of chance: " Passing through Paris, the co-presenter of the famous show Late Show with David Letterman (which later became The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), bought one of my pairs from a reseller. I never knew it until the day I went to the United States with a salesman to start testing the market. That's when I realized that, thanks to this gentleman who wore them every night at a peak viewing time, my glasses were already in fashion and that their marketing on this market had strong potential. ».

The other international success factor is based, according to Bruno Chaussignand, on its regular presence at numerous specialized trade fairs since its creation, where buyers are always looking for new products. He gives his informed point of view to young creators and business leaders: " Don't think that the locations in the shows are that important when you're starting out. The first few times, you quickly find yourself between the sandwich shop and the toilets, you think that no one will see you... but buyers know this very well and still stop by elsewhere than on the big stands and the central aisles. Because that's often where you'll find the new products, the young designers, the innovations ».

Material and know-how, the winning pair

How do you create a pair of glasses? What are the unknown skills of eyewear? How does technology change the approach? For Bruno Chaussignand, prototypes always start with a pencil and graph paper. If he is required to use computer software, it is most of the time only for minor adjustments. When you are an experienced optician, when you are used to faces, your eye is sharp, like a jeweler on his own work. You are then able to tell with the naked eye if the tooling needs to be modified by two tenths of a millimeter. That is important, and that is how we offer people models that make them rediscover themselves from another angle. "He is aware that for some people, the idea of wearing glasses can be destabilizing, and wants to demystify it.

In terms of materials, the designer has noticed new desires from his customers, such as giving a new lease of life to their pair of glasses after years of use, and the appearance on the market of increasingly clean products. For its part, it uses cellulose acetate, which has a smaller ecological footprint, a mixture of cotton flower and acetone. This gives a transparent, flexible material, stable to heat and light, ideal for manufacturing " handmade » (i.e. the bezel is hand-processed but machine-cut, unlike the term “ handmade » which refers to unique pieces). A pair of Bruno Chaussignand glasses involves 250 to 300 manufacturing steps! Whereas currently, the prototypers of many eyewear brands, particularly sports brands, create models from molds where the material is injected, reducing costs and manufacturing steps but also undeniably the quality of the finished product.

Manufacturing process

The industry is changing, as are the materials, but the desire to design original eyewear models persists. Of course, you have to reinvent yourself, and keep in mind that when you create, you expose yourself. Then you have to find people who understand what you want to say, create an emotional connection, create emotion, without ever betraying yourself. That's the whole point of creation. " concludes the optician.