Viega: Everything old can be made new again

Nestled on the southern shore of Australia’s New South Wales coast is an eyewear workshop which combines modern manufacturing techniques with recycled materials and recovered timber often thousands of years old.

Viega has established itself as a designer and builder of optical and sunglass frames using a range of recycled materials with age, beauty and character. ‘From a young age I had a fascination with creating products out of what was laying around,’ says Viega founder Thomas Gell. ‘Skip forward 30 years and my hands are still getting dirty doing the same things.’

He says over a period of many years he has perfected the process of re-using beautiful materials that would otherwise be wasted. ‘Veiga eyewear is the product of years refining a concept and process utilising natural materials. The timber used in the arms has stood the test of time and each piece has its own story to tell.’