Hi, it’s Jamie.
It's also the end of an era.
After 13 years, we’re moving workshop.
Lucy’s parents were kind enough to let us start our business here back in 2012. A wooden shed nestled at the bottom of their garden.
We’ve reconfigured, re-floored, re-roofed, re-painted and re-wired it more times than I can count.
No kidding, we’ve even slept in here.
We never imagined we’d still be here in 2025. Yet, it's given us the opportunity to grow, learn and build Banton into what it is today.
But for all these years, I’ve always been reluctant to bare the truth about our workspace.
The walls are mouldy, parts of the floor have fallen through, the lighting is terrible for photography and the cold, oh god, the cold in winter has put hairs on my chest.
You try picking up tiny spectacle screws with numb fingers.
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
And it’s true.
Compared to other brand’s beautiful studios and Instagram worthy workshops, I’ve been so reluctant about showcasing our little shed.
Our precious wee bothy that’s given us so much.
I’ll never forget the time an optician visited. He couldn’t believe the quality of our work coming out our “Wendy house.”
That comment stung 😔
But it also made me incredibly proud, knowing how capable we are with such limited resources.
In a way, this shed gave us an edge. An underdog mentality that made us push so f*cking hard to be the best at what we do.
If we could build Banton here, we could run it anywhere.
I think there’s something inherently Scottish about that. Toiling and fettling obsessively over something in a dimly lit shed in the pouring rain.
Without sheds and bad weather (maybe some whisky) we probably wouldn’t have discovered penicillin or invented the telephone, television, radar…
My biggest regret is not being more truthful.
I wish I’d been braver in the early days, showing you more of the journey we’ve been on. Looking back, some of it seems like utter madness.
Sane people would've quit.
But, it’s time for a new chapter
Lucy and I are relocating to a new workshop in Glasgow where we will re-join society and be around other people again.
13 years is a long time to work in complete isolation, away from our friends and the city where this spectacle making obsession first began.
It’s been a long time coming.
Next time
Over the coming weeks and months, I'll share small updates about our big move.
These emails are just to share the journey and let you see what's going on behind the scenes.
I hope you found this interesting and thanks for reading.
Bye for now,