Started by Dimitris Diamantis in 2015, Athens-based eyewear label Urban Owl launched aspiring to fulfill the founder’s idea of premium eyewear. His goal was to provide quality sunglasses – the products are crafted with rare earth elements with the ability to selectively filter sunlight and enhance on the main colors such as red, green, yellow and blue – at revolutionary prices by avoiding middlemen, in order to deliver a product directly to consumers without license and distribution costs, while giving the latter the power to vote for the next style. His ambitious project quickly launched on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo last summer to raise funding; when the campaign ended, a small amount from every pair sold was donated to charity. We caught up with Diamantis to discuss launching his business, establishing an international clientele and future plans.
Can you tell us about yourself and your business, in terms of how you came to become interested in eyewear design and sunglasses?
I grew up in Athens and studied Civil Engineering. My love for sunglasses grew more and more each year. I was studying the history of eyewear and the manufacturing procedures by myself, and I knew I wanted to create my own eyewear collection inspired by the urban culture one day.
Through Urban Owl, you have implemented two of the hottest trends in fashion business – crowdfunding and cutting the middlemen. How did you come to these decisions?
The first Urban Owl collection was launched through Indiegogo starting on 27th of July 2015. The supporters of the campaign made our dreams become reality. In the beginning, we were very anxious about the results, but, in the end, the response from people around the world was overwhelming. The decision to participate in Indiegogo was the direct result of skipping middlemen and corporate funding, and give people who share the same values with us the opportunity to help us raise funds because they truly believed we could make it.
Your collection currently includes men and women sunglasses; unisex seems to be very common in your field. How do you feel about this particular trend?
All of our styles are intentionally unisex; we don’t focus on men or women, we focus on people. For example, a couple can both share the same pair of Urban Owl sunglasses. This is fascinating to us. Our designs are carefully handcrafted to be lightweight. We are not trendsetters; we just feel that we make eyewear meant to be worn and celebrated by everyone. We don’t characterize a product “feminine” or “masculine;” our clients are free to decide who will wear what. This is what democratizing eyewear style is really about.
Your products are crafted with premium materials. Where do you stand on quality reflected on the price?
Urban Owl aims to reproduce vintage iconic sunglasses using the latest technologies in lenses and materials. The material used for the sunglasses is called acetate and it is of the finest Italian quality. The lenses used are of the highest quality featuring unique filters providing high-definition vision and blue light absorption filters. In combination with a special tint, unparalleled clarity is achieved. Our prices are fair given such a high-quality, handmade product, but they are also fair for our employees and team. We believe in a fair world.
Your company gives back to people in need. What made you sensitive to charity, and how did you see it fit to your brand story?
I will answer you with an Epicurus quote: “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
When it comes to partnerships – whether being stockists, business partners, etc – what do you look for at this point?
We are planning on giving student designers the opportunity to produce their own styles and teach them the design procedure. Apart from that, we are very careful about our brand; we only sell online in order to keep in touch with our customers, so that not only do we deliver a quality product but also establish a trustworthy relationship with them.
What markets are you interested in conquering and having your products stocked in?
We are highly interested in United States. This our next step after Europe and Australia.
When it comes to competing with brands that are dominant in the sunglasses industry, what do emerging labels need to offer to stand out?
We aren’t multinational, and we don’t compete with them. We are free to design eyewear we love. Sometimes small companies think of the big ones, but this is wrong. We allow ourselves to observe the big ones but to a certain degree; if you overdo it, you’ll lose your feeling. We are always researching, we are always curious about trends, but ultimately when it comes to design, we only think of what’s right for Urban Owl. We are #UrbanOwlers after all.
What are your future plans?
Our first voting procedure has ended, and we are going to produce the model chosen in three-four months. The second voting procedure will take place in three weeks, and everyone will have the opportunity to vote the following model to be produced.
We are also launching a new limited-edition line.
www.urbanowl.eu
Images © Urban Owl