Bidules

Upcycled eyewear, remarkable glasses, eye tests and good stories. We bring unique glasses back to li

Underestimated and forgotten eyewear hunters, taking dead stocks to the next level.

28/05/2026

For our next EYES portrait, meet Thuan (1990, Brussels), the co-creator of .bxl , a neighbourhood bistro centred around saké. This isn’t the first bistro he’s started in Brussels, always finding new ways to create spaces where people can gather around a table.

A lot of people still confuse saké for a spirit but it isn’t, as Thuan told us: “it’s a brewed rice wine, closer in nature to a fine wine than to a shot of vodka. It has complexity, seasonality, and a vocabulary as rich as any wine tradition - shaped by the quality of the rice, the water source, and the skill of the brewer. Serve it cold or hot, in a proper glass, with food that has nothing to do with Japan - it pairs beautifully with cheese, charcuterie, even Brussels classics.” Definitely made all of us want to pay a visit.

As if having a restaurant wasn’t enough, Thuan is also developing a video game called ‘Hibiki no Ikigai’ as a tribute to his late dog, Hibiki. The game follows a young dog wandering through a spiritual forest in search of his reason for being - his ikigai. It’s still in progress, but has already pulled at our heartstrings.

In his portrait, he wears a pair of Christian Roth mod.14037 (00s, JP). They’re his first pair of glasses, which are just “enough to make the world a little sharper”. Not bad for a first try.

To see more of the glasses we love and the lovely people we’ve crossed paths with, check out our EYES portrait project at Eyes — Bidules

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27/05/2026

Boxes from the new stock we received from Cadore (70s, 80s IT) a few weeks ago.

The moment we opened this stock would’ve been a great clip to re-play, as our faces lit up like kids at Christmas from all these beautiful (albeit dusty) boxes.

Here’s a selection of our favourite ones, and their contents are just as radiant.

Pass by Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 18.30, to try on the frames these boxes held so patiently for all these years.

21/05/2026

What happens in Jura… doesn’t stay in Jura.

Some stills from our digging trip earlier this month, passing through familiar and unfamiliar roads, looking (and finding!) lots of new frames to bring back to you in Brussels.

We also spent a good amount of time side-questing to find components and materials for our new FRONTs mod.468. We got lucky and found a set of hinges made in Morez (FR) by Comotec / Société V***e Henri Chevassus and deadstock acetate wire core for the temples. Pretty exciting stuff, we can’t wait for you to see them in their final form.

New stock is being added daily into the store, make sure to pass by to check it out - Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 18.30.

20/05/2026

Some frames don’t need much of an introduction.

Here are two unique, and quite dramatic (in the best way), cat-eye frames, most likely from the 1950s or early 1960s and made in Oyonnax (FR), when the cat-eye silhouette was at its peak.

Terribly solid, but still elegant, with double star-shaped rivets at the outer corners of each brow.

Both available as opticals or sunnies in the shop, pass by to try them out (and your cat-eye personality), anytime Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 18.30.

14/05/2026

PAPER GLASSES BY FACTORY900 MODEL FA-P081

FACTORY900 (JP) made origami paper glasses back in 2018, and it seemed too good to not try ourselves.

Manufactured in Japan, these frames are on a 1:1 scale, with a high rated difficulty level, and take about 2 hours to produce.

We had give it a try, and we’re not convinced she hadn’t secretly practised beforehand, she was far too fast and far too good.

While we’re at it, we still have a few FACTORY900 frames in the store (and no, they’re not made of paper) - come check them out in the store, Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 18.30, or on our feed below.

13/05/2026

Emma (Brussels, 2001) is a ‘souvenir’ collector; she collects every little flyer, poster, card, stone, sticker; anything that might help her remember a good moment. One that sticks is her orange lamp - which was her mom’s when she was young and carried with her wherever she moved, and now Emma does the same.

She currently works at WWF-Belgium in the human resources department, but before that she’s lived just about everywhere; Copenhagen, Seoul, Berlin and the list goes on… (the orange lamp has seen more cities than most people!). She’s not afraid of jumping out of her comfort zone, which helped when making her glasses selection at the store. She landed on a Matsuda Mod.10344 (JP) - which she was so happy about as she ‘finally found glasses that fit my head!’ and they do, really well.

To see more of the glasses we love and the lovely people we’ve crossed paths with, check out our EYES portrait project at Eyes — Bidules

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07/05/2026

BIDULES TAKES ECOCHEQUES!

If you’re following us from outside Belgium, ecocheques might be a bit unfamiliar to you. They’re simply yearly employer-provided vouchers that encourage the purchase of ecological or sustainable products and services.

They’re a great way to buy sustainable appliances, train tickets, gardening tools, or a new pair of glasses!

If you’ve been wondering how to spend yours this year, pass by the store Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 18.30 - we’ll help you find your new frame!

*we used physical ecocheques for the photos, although we accept them in card form too.

06/05/2026

HOW GOOD ARE YOUR LENSES?

More answers to questions you asked on bidules.be/you-asked

30/04/2026

HAPPY (early) INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY!

To mark the occasion, here’s a frame from the PRC made by Suzhou Yanjingerchang state factory.

We assume these to be from circa 1950, in the socialist era, pre- or early Cultural Revolution, as the packaging carries no Maoist slogans, and is stamped with a 5.1 (First of May!) seal.

These were medical grade, state-issued glasses, pre-mounted and ready to wear bi-focal frames.

You can see them worn by Chao Chung-yao, a pioneer in experimental nuclear physics. He helped discover the positron and pave the way for the acceptance of quantum electrodynamics (don’t ask us to go further in depth on that point).

We love a packaging that tells us a bit of a story, and use it to celebrate all workers of the world today - a holiday that started on the first of May 1886 in Chicago, commemorating the workers who walked out protesting for an eight hour work day.

Get to the streets, unionise and happy workers day!

We’ll be closed tomorrow (Friday) for the first of May, but back on Saturday the 2nd at our regular hours.

29/04/2026

Unique FOCA (Fabbrica Occhiali Ceculoid e Affini) model alongside some photos of its birthplace.

FOCA was founded circa 1950 in Grea di Cadore (in the Dolomites) by Pietro Frescura. They quickly became heroes of the regional eyewear industry, pioneering innovations in acetate curing, design and craftsmanship. After being heated and set, the acetate was set to rest for months, like a fine cheese or wine. This process stabilised it, forming a denser material, helping the frames retain their shape through heavy wear and high temperatures.

They closed their doors in 1991 - if you’ve followed our history lessons so far, this the era of many small manufacturers being forced to choose between quality and scale to better appeal to a global market that was being shaped by the giant monopoly of Essilor-Luxottica.

What they say is true, they don’t make them like they used to!

This model has just sold, but pass by to check out all the FOCAs we’ve brought back for you - Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 18.30.

23/04/2026

BIDULES IS HIRING!

We are looking for a ‘Sales Advisor & Workshop Assistant’ to join our loveliest Brussels team.

It’s a part-time and long-term position. In it, you’ll contribute to creating a welcoming space for everyone who visits, having open and honest conversations with our customers, helping them find a pair of reliable and sustainable glasses which will likely become their new best friend.

You will also fit, repair and restore frames, get to know the stories behind them, and gradually build up a feel for glasses that goes well beyond what’s on our shelf.

If you’re someone who loves working with both your hands and your mind, thrives in a busy environment and gets genuinely excited by things made with care, we’d love to hear from you!

(Experience in the optical field is a big plus!)

Head to www.bidules.be/jobs (in our bio) to read more about the position and how to apply!

Applications can be sent until May 15th.

Adres

44 Rue Ravenstein
Brussels
1000

Website

http://www.bidules.be/

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