Ciaran McCarthy loves history, and for the past five years he's been collecting and selling vintage eyeglasses frames with a story. He started out collecting interesting frames for himself, putting his own prescription lenses into them. "That's where the obsession of vintage eyewear first started," he said from his office in a historical Moncton building.
McCarthy is a licensed optician and now helps others with an eye for fashion to find eyewear they "really love" and are excited to wear. McCarthy sands and polishes some old frames to make them shine again. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC) He currently has about 400 pairs in his collection and some date as far back as the 1920s, he said.
People who want a unique look can book hour-long appointments where they can take their time trying on glasses and hearing about the history of the frames. "You can go to a brick and mortar store, you can go to a big corporation, you can go online but there's nothing that's in between that. So I was like, 'well, maybe this can be that in between,'" he said.
McCarthy has about 400 frames in his collection, he said. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC) "Maybe some people really would enjoy this. They want the history of the frame, they want that whole story.
They want to wear something that they can tell people about." WATCH | Check out some of the funky frames from as far back as the 1920s: Moncton optician finds his niche in vintage frames 58 minutes ago Duration 3:38 Optician Ciaran McCarthy thrifts, collects and sells ey.