This year's Small Business Saturday had me thinking: optometry is full of independent practitioners but for many years we've been providing eyewear designed by large corporations.  Don't get me wrong, I am a fashion world junkie as much as the rest.  But while we can be wowed by designer names on the side of our glasses, we often aren't getting much in the way of true design.  Many large fashion house designers outsource their optical divisions to larger corporations, and that's where you see entities like Luxottica retailing everything from Oakley to Tory Burch and Michael Kors.  Where can you find truly crafted eyewear?  Until recently there was very little going on in America, and the top independent eyewear craftsmen were designing in France, Italy, and Japan.  But in the past few years we've seen a Renaissance in American eyewear design, and in honor of Small Business Saturday, we're featuring 6 reasons that you should shop small for your eyewear this year too!

Were your glasses made by hand? I challenge you to try on a custom crafted pair of eyewear and feel the difference true design and quality can make.  Wonder why your glasses always push dents on your nose or pinch behind your ears?  You don't have to hate your glasses; you just need to invest in quality, thoughtful eyewear design. Photo above via State Optical

Article One Eyewear: Based in Flint, Michigan, Article One originated as an idea to give back. Designer Wes Stoody was inspired to create an eyewear line that combined luxury craftsmanship with a cause. Every frame purchased donates money to Helen Keller International, a non-profit fighting blindness from vitamin A deficiency in impoverished nations.  To date over 15,000 lives have been touched by their mission.  Right now Article One frames are handcrafted in Northern Italy, but Stoody dreams of bringing production to craftsmen in his hometown of Flint in the future.  You can hear more of his story here.

A bonus for you  Sign up for the Article One newsletter and you'll have a chance to earn a free pair of Article One eyewear and 50% off future orders. This promotion is only open to eyecare providers.

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Bevel This Kansas City based eyewear company is the brainchild of opticians Richard Mewha and Rick Nelson, and their mission statement is a bit unusual.  "Neither wants the brand to be the coolest or hottest or most recognizable" states their website, but the focus is on the simple perfection of minimalist ideals: great fit, clean lines, quality materials. Their titanium and acetate frames are designed in America and hand crafted in Japan with a focus on bold colors like the chartreuse used in their graphic brand logo and marketing campaigns. 

One thing that hasn't been associated with eyewear for a while: "Made in America."  For decades eyewear design and manufacture has been split into 2 realms: luxury craftmanship in European markets like Italy or France, versus low cost, mass produced frames made in high production markets like China. American eyewear designers were plentiful, but actual frame production was always sent overseas.  Through the early 2000s, many American industrial cities were plummeting into economic crisis as manufacturing jobs continued to rush off shore to drive down production costs.  But there were many in the world of optical that wanted to move manufacturing back stateside. Enter the team behind  STATE Optical Co. - the first luxury eyewear brand to be designed and manufactured in the USA.


How did STATE Optical turn the tide?  In 1977 Alan and Cynthia Shapiro founded Europa, an industry leading eyewear company out of their garage.  Fast forward to 2011 when their son, Scott Shapiro began working with Europa president Jerry Wolowicz on ways to bring producation of acetate eyewear to the US.  They had the will, but they needed someone with the know how and craftmanship expertise to actually manufacture luxury eyewear - rare to find in the US since the industry had been international for so many years. They teamed up with the improbable pair of cousins Marc Franchi and Jason Staley -- men with a history of working primarily in the automotive field that had a passion for making things with their hands. When they learned so few eyeglasses were made in the US, they started learning the trade on their own.  "Of course everyone told them they were crazy, and that the idea wasn't economically feasible," says Scott Shapiro.  

Franchi and Staley learned eyewear manufacturing from the ground up, touring manufacturing facilities overseas and observing craftsmen at work.  "They literally taught themselves how to produce acetate eyewear," marvels Shapiro.  Shapiro and Wolowicz were first introduced to the cousins when they came across their original made in America eyewear, "Frieze Frames."  They were wowed by the quality of the frames, unparalleled in the small American eyewear market. The partnership was born: the cousins and now 45 additional highly skilled eyewear craftsmen now produce frames out of the state-of-the-art Chicago home of State Optical Co. 

The Process

Blake Kuwahara is the lauded American eyewear designer behind his popular eponymous frame line and a recent capsule collection with l.a. Eyeworks to name a few

"Part of our vision for building this factory was that optical professionals and eyewear lovers from around the country could come to our facility and see how frames are made. When you buy a pair of STATE frames and open the case, you’ll see the statement, “come see how your frames are made”. Our factory is open to the public. Anyone can make an appointment for a factory tour right from our website, STATEopticalco.com."

Each STATE Optical Co design features a pyramid of 21 drill dots reminiscent of the stars on the United States flag to represent Illinois, the 21st state of the union.

STATE Optical Co. is very new to the market, but already having a big impact. "We soft-launched the collection at Vision Expo West in 2015 and attracted a lot of attention. That was literally the first time anyone outside our company had seen any of the frames. We showed it again at Vision Expo East and were mostly booked the entire weekend."

"Our major focus right now is just on continuing to increase the capacity of our factory, and Marc and Jason are continuing to train our craftsmen to perfect these long-lost skills. As we achieve that, we will be able to take on some of the other wild endeavors we have on our white board. As for now, we’re preparing to make 2017 a very big year for STATE Optical Co."

Check out the entire collection on their website and get sneak peaks into the manufacturing process and the detailed hand-craftmanship behind each frame on their Instagram account.