We Are Making The 3RD/DIADEM’s Eyewear!!
Hello!
It has been a long time since we posted last time. The good news is we managed 3 years of start-up madness and we have even managed to develop a very exciting project this year!
After two years of research and development in our workshop, we have finally completed all prototypes of our truly original eyewear collection: TANAKA EYEWEAR.
Gow Tanaka Designer /Founder
ORIGINAL DESIGN x UNIQUE MATERIAL
Handcrafted from recycled paper
Let me share the journey of creating “TANAKA EYEWEAR.”
It all started at a weekend market in Kings Cross, London, in 2022. One of the customers, who happened to be the CEO of a well-known sunglasses brand, asked about the material of our products. She seemed very impressed that they were made from compressed recycled paper and asked me, "Do you want to make an eyeglass frame with this material?"
My answer was, "Why not!" So I stepped into another big challenge. I was hoping this one would be easier than when I started making our first product, Dappe hair combs. At least this time, I was already a maker and didn’t need to change my job.
I didn’t know anything about making glasses frames or anyone in the business, so I started to watch YouTube videos and research other eyewear, just to find out where to start.
It didn’t look easy, of course. But I thought, "Fuck it, just make one! Then make two, make ten, make again." My obsession kicked in, as always.
These were the problems I encountered:
This recycled paper material doesn’t react to heat or anything to modify the shape, unlike acetate. The most traditional processes for acetate frames involve heat.
This material doesn’t work well with most glues for lamination.
Local optician lens fitting charges are so expensive!
I couldn’t understand all the components (hinges and other extra small parts) without trying them, and they are so hard to source for a beginner!
I didn’t have anyone to ask for advice.
Got into this project too much and forgot about other things (marketing, sales, social media and updating blog etc.. usual ‘business’.) even money for this project had stopped coming..
Just a few problems, but enough to keep me busy and mad! To cut a long story short, this is what I did:
Watched YouTube videos about different crafts to seek cross-techniques that I could implement in my project.
Attended trade shows.
Tried again and again to get a better understanding.
Making my own tools and jigs
Only talking about my eyewear at the pub.
Keep forgetting about making money.
About a year later, I met some eyewear makers, and things started to improve much faster, I was able to make an “ok” standard frame from my material recycled paper!
Then, my usual obsession kicked in again….
“ok” is not ok, it needs to be bang-on quality and I want to see my signature on the design! I was trying to replicate good classic shapes to learn the craft, but obviously, they weren’t my original designs. The material might be interesting to people, but it wasn’t interesting for me to just replicate or make a similar, and we don’t want to be one of the start-up brands just using sustainable materials and making the same designs from every other shop..
Another year passed, and now we have four very original designs I am proud of with unique details and surface texture inspired by the Japanese garden, frame shapes were designed based on art & design I learned when I was styling hair professionally for fashion photoshoots. My craft skills have much improved over these two years, and I am proud of the quality. I wear them myself every day to test them! We will be taking photos of every model in a week or two, can’t wait to show you
So what’s next? I need to prepare our workshop for production, which means making tools and jigs to produce each pair at the best quality. I also need to design the coolest glasses case and box and get them made for the BIG day—“LAUNCH”!
If you are interested in hearing more about TANAKA EYEWEAR, SIGN UP for our mailing list to ensure you get updates for the Pre-Launch Release sale at a reduced price before the main launch.
