Category Archives: Discussion

Why NOT More Than One Pair?

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Have you ever considered buying eyewear like you buy your shoes? barbie-shoes-colors-cute-doll-rainbow-shoes-Favim.com-84552

Humor me for a few minutes here.

We’re pretty much required to wear shoes.  You can’t go into most public buildings without them, it’s illegal to drive without them, and let’s face it – walking around barefoot is uncomfortable.  So, shoes could easily be categorized as a “quality of life accessory item” in most circles.

I don’t know many people that only own one pair of shoes in their entire wardrobe.  (Those people exist, sure. But, I think we can agree that they’re pretty rare.)  There are shoes for different occasions. For certain weather conditions. To make us comfortable. To make us feel good about ourselves. To help us reach our goals.  To protect our feet.

Why are there so many options?  Because there’s a demand.  Put simply, people want to fulfill their basic needs by their footwear.

That’s the simple answer, of course.  But according to statistics from The National Shoe Retailers Association, casual and dress shoe sales for men and women make up over 45% of all purchases made.  It’s no secret – we purchase shoes for fashion as well as utility.

Now apply that same thinking to eyewear.  We wear glasses to correct our vision. To protect our eyes from harm.  If you can’t see clearly, wearing vision correction of some sort (glasses or contact lenses) falls into the “quality of life accessory item” category as well.

There’s no shortage in choices for eyewear.  You can get anything you want – color, size, shape, material, style, etc.  So, why do eyewear customers traditionally only have one pair of glasses to wear?

Eyewear can change your entire look.  It can accent an outfit.  Eyewear can change how you feel about yourself and how others view you.

The next time you want a new pair of glasses (notice we said “want” – not “need”) – ask yourself, why NOT more than one pair?  Your answer may surprise you.

Everything’s Right In Front of You.

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Google's Project Glass prototype eyewear (courtesy Google Images)

You probably haven’t missed Google’s recent announcement of the testing of Project Glass, the ground-breaking augmented reality glasses that puts the features of your smartphone front and center in a heads-up display (HUD) directly in front of your eyes.

As expected, the reports of other eyewear companies working on similar technologies are following on the heels of Google’s announcement.  The week, Oakley Inc., reported that they are working on this type of augmented reality for their signature sunglasses, marketed towards athletes.

In today’s world of smartphones and information obtainable at a swipe of a finger, there’s definitely a market for the next phase of mobile computing – putting it literally in front of your face.  It definitely gets rid of the head-bowed, distracted people walking along the streets or (cringe!) the bobbing head of a person driving on the highway while also using their phone.  While we’re out in the world, our phones have replaced printed maps, cameras, and the need to have a computer nearby (just to name a few big benefits).

Looking at the image of the prototype for Project Glass, there are no lenses in the frames.  That begs the obvious question, “Well, what about those of us that wear prescription eyewear?”  After the initial announcement, this was later addressed by Isabelle Olsson, a member of the Project Glass team, that they are “….experimenting with designs that are meant to be extendable to different types of frames.”

I’m still scratching my head over this one.  Prescription eyewear users are an afterthought with this project?  The whole point of wearing glasses is to correct poor eyesight, and the point of wearing sunglasses is to protect the eyes against damaging ultraviolet rays.  Wouldn’t eyeglass wearers be the primary audience here?

Now, I’m a bit of a tech geek, so I get that there’s the huge challenge of even creating this kind of technology alone.  It’s hard enough to create a heads-up display that works perfectly.  Throw in the complicated world of vision-correcting on top of all of that, and there’s a high potential for minds being blown to pieces.  But, when there are more people in the world that need vision correction in the world than have perfect vision, I can’t imagine that there aren’t some glasses-wearers on Project Glass’ team and that their internal dialogue wasn’t piping up and asking, “Hey, what about someone like me?”

I’m sure a company like ours will pose an interesting challenge to Project Glass’ design team – when your glasses have no standard lens or frame shape, how will this fit on any design of glasses?  Will eyewear designers begin to adapt their creations to accommodate this shift in available technology, or will the tech market be the ones to adapt to the existing eyewear industry?  Only time will tell as the new advances in wearable technology begin to evolve.

Another interesting topic to consider – as eyewear continues to evolve from the negative perception it used to have of being unattractive and nerdy, companies that specialize in fun, funky glasses are gaining more fans as eyeglass wearers look for something different in their frames.  It stands to reason that fashion vs. function could become a big consideration in deciding which type of frames to buy.  When was the last time you bought glasses and considered what kind of technology could attach to it?  For most of us, that answer is probably “never”.  It may feel strange to imagine it, but I’m guessing that it won’t be too far off in the future.

In the meantime, fun eyewear owners, make sure you’re watching where you’re going when you’re walking and looking up directions to that great gyro place on your phone.  Nothing smarts more than a lightpole in the face.

Thanksgiving and taglines.

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One of the great things about working with retailers is the opportunity to take part in their trunk shows.  Optical retailers do a great job in promoting and inviting customers to their trunk shows, and it’s a great opportunity for a new product such as ours to get an audience.

Everything always seems to happen all at once, doesn’t it?  Our reps happened to get two trunk shows scheduled within the same week in different parts of the country.

One of the big things on our to-do list has been to create promotional posters for retailers.  With two trade shows coming up fast, we pushed that to-do item to the top of the list this month.  We wanted to have something to help our retailers promote our lines, and to assist them in advertising the trade shows.

Since we’d already had our epiphany that trying to combine both eyewear brands on one piece of a point of purchase (POP) display doesn’t make much sense, we set off to put together a design/print/shipping plan to complete two branded posters by the day before Thanksgiving.  It was a lofty goal, but we’ve done “impossible” deadlines before.  Just ask us some time about the catalog insert we did before the Las Vegas Vision Expo this year!

The Jean Reno design?  Quick and easy.  We have great photographs of Mr. Reno to use, and had already established a strong tagline: The Impact of Fame.

But when it came to the ZIGGY® design, it wasn’t as easy as we’d thought.  We have great model photos for the ZIGGY® line, so that was pretty quick to put together.  It was the tagline that tripped us up.  How do you encompass the essence of this wildly unique eyewear brand in just a few words?

After debating on and off for a couple of days, we finally asked our graphic designer if she would try putting “Something Different.” under our imagery.  When we opened the revised file, our eyes lit up.  Sometimes, just saying it like it is makes the biggest impact.  This eyewear is something different.

One of many things we were very thankful for last week was our amazing graphic designer and printing company.  They came through for us again, and we met our goal to be completed by the day before Thanksgiving.

Here’s the finished products.  What do you think?

ZIGGY® by Cendrine O. poster, side 1
ZIGGY® by Cendrine O. poster, side 2
Jean Reno by Cendrine O. poster (both sides)

Believe in what you sell.

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One of our reps shared a great story with me yesterday.

He was visiting a retailer, presenting our lines for the first time to the staff in the store.  The buyer had interest, but she was unsure.  “I mean, they’re really beautiful, but I don’t know if they’ll sell,” she told our rep.  “We might try them and see how they do, but I don’t know.”

Our rep replied, kindly, “Then I’m not going to sell them to you.”

“What?!” she asked incredulously.

“I’m not going to sell them to you.”

“Why not?” she asked in amazement.

“Because,” he said, “if you don’t believe in how great these glasses are, then your customers will pick up on that from you.  If your customers aren’t convinced, they’re not going to buy them, and you won’t sell them.”

True to his word, our sales rep didn’t sell our product to this retailer.  Instead, he paid a visit to the store across the street, and they immediately purchased both the ZIGGY® and Jean Reno lines for their retail space.

I was so proud to hear this story from our sales rep, because he believes in our brands so much that he would rather pass up a sale than to place the frames in a retail space that doesn’t share the same passion for our product.

This is how we all feel at ZIG Eyewear – we believe we have something amazing to share with the eyewear world.  We also know that not everyone will find our product as amazing as we do.  For those people, we agree to disagree and wish you a great day. :)

And for our fans, we look forward to getting to know you, hear from you, and hopefully greet more of you as time goes by.   Keep making your mark with your “something different” eyewear!

The big, the round, the ugly.

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I’m a bit confused recently.

Remember the part in my last post where I talked about the 80s being dominated by big, plastic, round glasses that vaporized one’s cool factor into oblivion?  I think anyone who lived through the 80s can identify with this.  It’s the classic case of “why did we think we looked good back then?”  Truth is, we thought we looked pretty rad.  But when it came to glasses – even then – we knew they were pretty unattractive.

So, why is it that I’m recently seeing Hollywood actresses/personalities wearing big, dark, glasses when they’re considered “dressed down” in regular society?

I started thinking about this when I saw this photo tweeted by Lacey Schwimmer, one of the professional dancers of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”  (I think Lacey is great, so it made me sad to see her choice of glasses.)

Then I saw this photo of actress Anne Hathaway, who is currently filming her role as Catwoman in the next Batman movie.

These are both beautiful women, and I just can’t understand why they selected eyewear that, frankly, does nothing for them.

Do you think these public figures would be photographed wearing these frames at a big event, on a red carpet?  Definitely not.  The fashion bloggers would be all over them.

So, is this the way to say to tell the world that you’re dressed down -  by wearing unattractive glasses?  Is there a switch that goes on that says, “I’m not ‘on’ right now – I’m just being me” when these glasses are worn?  Again, I just don’t get it.  There are so many better choices of eyewear than dark, oversized frames.

Jean Reno by Cendrine O. model 1035, C1

Jean Reno by Cendrine O. model 1035 C1

Imagine if Lacey Schwimmer wore a pair of these frames when she was up early and jetting off to her next press appearance:

 

 

 

Or, if Anne Hathaway caught a cab wearing these frames instead:

ZIGGY® by Cendrine O. model 1154 C3

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m confused because there are beautiful glasses out there to wear, even when you’re not dressed to impress.  I get it – celebrities are always having to get dressed up for events, functions, etc.  So, to get to dress down is a luxury that they can’t often indulge in.

But big glasses? It’s not like they’re a comfy pair of sweatpants.

Maybe I’ll never understand this perception.  But, I wish there was something we could do to change it.

(Lacey & Anne, if you’re listening, we think you’re awesome. Your glasses don’t do you justice!)

What do you really see?

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I don’t think anyone can argue that eyewear has gone through changes over the decades.  Changes in design?  Of course.  Changes in perception?  Most definitely.  I believe we’re in a very interesting time for eyewear in our current decade, but we still battle some old  perspectives on what eyewear should be… and what it really is.

I’ve needed vision correction since I was in 4th grade.  In about 2008, it was time for me to finally get some new frames.  I had held off buying new frames through about 3 changes in prescriptions, so I resigned myself to it being time to get some new, updated frames. (I’d been wearing contact lenses since I was 13, so glasses were only worn as a back-up.)

Everything looked the same up on that optician’s board, and there were a ton of options to choose from.  It was like a sea of sameness… where do I even begin?  The optician came over to help me, and after a moment of thought, he handed me a pair of burgundy frames with an intricate design on the temples.  “No way,” my mind automatically reacted.  “Those are different.”  Cue feelings of hesitation.  Skepticism.  There might’ve even bit a bit of fear mixed in.

He gently encouraged me to try them on, and I was amazed to see that I looked… good.  Was it possible that I could pull these off?  I liked how they looked on me.  “But, they’re different.” 

As I’m prone to do when I’m deciding on a purchase, I tried other frames on to make sure I was being thorough.  But, everything still looked the same, and nothing made me feel as good as those burgundy frames did.  I kept thinking about them, and they had unknowingly become the benchmark that everything else was being compared to.

“Is it okay to do this?  Can I do this?” I kept asking myself.

It didn’t occur to me at the time, but why was I so hesitant to wear something “different”?

Katy Perry nailed the 80's glasses look in her video for "Last Friday Night"

Remember what the glasses were like in the 80′s?  Big.  Plastic.  Round.  Personally, I couldn’t wait to get contact lenses, because frames were generally ugly, and perceived as negatively nerdy, unattractive, and boring.  If you got contact lenses, your coolness factor was restored.

Nice frames, Gillian Anderson.

 

 

 

 

Then, in the 90s, vision correction surgery came on the scene, and everyone I knew was talking about it and/or getting it.  Glasses during that period really gravitated toward wire frames: minimal, maybe with a little color (mine were purple wire), and smaller.  But, I still remember the general consensus was that glasses just weren’t cool, and everyone was trying to get out of them any way they could.

Looking back at how glasses shaped my perception of others and how others perceived me, it makes sense that I would be hesitant to get a pair that would (gasp) call attention to the fact that I was wearing glasses.  In fact, if I got glasses with this much care and attention put into the design, I would have to (double gasp) wear them.

In the end, I bought the burgundy frames.  And, I started to wear them outside of the house.  At first, I wore them every few days or so, but as I started getting compliments from co-workers, family members, and friends, I started wearing them more often.  Positive reinforcement does wonders, doesn’t it?  Hearing “I love your glasses!” or “Those look really good on you” is a great encouragement.

I think my own relationship with eyewear is similar to many others’.  The industry is changing, and it’s becoming more socially-acceptable to wear glasses and look cool doing it.  But eyewear manufacturers won’t make sales if customers aren’t interested in buying what they’re offering.  If the majority of Americans who wear glasses just want to minimize the fact that they have to wear them, that’s the majority of frames that will be made available.

It’s funny how one shopping experience for glasses could have such a significant impact on how I presented myself to the public, but that’s exactly what happened.  If it weren’t for my optician’s encouragement, I would never have stepped outside of my perceived comfort zone.  I’m glad I did, because it gave me a more open mind about eyewear, and a clearer understanding of what frames-wearers consider when they’re buying glasses.

When I started working for ZIG Eyewear, I had the honor of having Cendrine, the designer herself, pick out the right frames for me.  This time, I was much more open to wearing “something different” – in fact, I was looking forward to it.

These are one of the frames I wear, and the the ones Cendrine selected for me:

The next time you’re shopping for eyewear, I challenge you to try on something different than you’ve worn in the past.  You might just see more clearly, in more ways than one.