Q. What does the launch of the first Lake and Harriet by eyebobs collection mean to you?

A. The launch of Lake & Harriet is incredibly exciting for me. It represents the culmination of what we have been striving to do here at eyebobs for 20 years: give our customers permission to be their truest and most authentic selves, as expressed through incredible eyewear.

Q. What was your design inspiration behind Untitled?

A. The inspiration for the first collection of Lake and Harriet by eyebobs was art – and we intentionally chose this vast, diverse, and hard-to-define world in order to allow ourselves the ultimate creative license. This eyewear had to be created with no boundaries and no rules. We let ourselves play with color, shape, and volume. By doing so, we created a collection like no other.

Q. How are the Untitled frames different from other eyebobs eyewear?

A. Everything about Untitled is different! These frames are differentiated primarily by their extreme boldness and the fact that there’s nothing else that looks like it in the eyewear industry. The processes involved in creating these frames are highly technical and time-consuming. The componentry is elevated from a quality standpoint. Even the packaging is a work of art.

Q. What was different about the design process for Untitled?

A. When I am developing frames for eyebobs, I have context and data I can use to guide my creative process. What have our customers liked in the past? What have they asked us for? With Lake & Harriet, the challenge was to come up with something unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Boundless creativity. No rules, no guidelines. It’s a hugely broad playground to play in. I might be taking inspiration from a tree I see at the park or a beautiful sofa at a luxury hotel. The sofa example is real, by the way.

I also know I’m pushing our manufacturers and vendors to do things very differently than they ever have. I bring these wacky ideas to our vendors and challenge them to bring them to life, and then we work together to make these artistic dreams into eyewear that is optical grade and wearable as well as beautiful. It’s not just the designs that are completely one of a kind. These are being made by the manufacturer in completely unique ways, too.

Q. What did you do to get inspired for Untitled?

A. An integral part of the process was opening my mind up more in general. This may sound fairly broad, but at the start of all this, I really had to get into the daily habit of preparing to be inspired by whatever I saw.

One thing I started doing during the creation process was visiting my daughter’s old art room. She used to be very intro drawing. While she’s not a famous painter, standing in that room and taking in what she had created helped me get into the personal, artistic mindset when studying great works of art throughout history, which was necessary when ideating the Untitled frames.

Q. What do you hope people feel when they see these glasses for the first time?

A. I want people who see these glasses to be forced to pause and really think about what they are. And I want the fact that they were stopped by these glasses to make them excited about wearing them and stopping others.

These are the type of glasses that will grow on people. That’s not to say the initial surprise and delight won’t be there, because trust me, it will. But even for our most confident and kooky customers, there’s a change that’ll happen between initially seeing them and completely owning them being on their bodies. But that’s what we want. The best things in life start with a little discomfort and involve growth.

These glasses are shocking. And by the time you’re wholeheartedly comfortable with them, you’ll relish in the double-takes you get from those who pass by. You’ll think, “These make me feel a certain way. I have so much fun wearing them. I love seeing how other people see me when I have them on.”

Q. How else do you think these glasses really differ from other things on the market?

A. In the eyewear industry and greater world of consumer goods, there’s very little driven by the notion of unimpeded creativity. Most things are created to be bought, so they’re some iteration of something else you’ve seen or have in your closet. I’ve always looked for the outliers, and there’s been very few things that have ever stopped me and made me think, “Whoa. Why does this exist? Where does it come from? Who came up with it?” These frames will make people do just that.

With Lake & Harriet, we are truly doing things differently. I didn’t design these frames specifically to fit into a box of consumer data. Of course, we hope you’ll like them and want to wear them, but ultimately, if they sell, they sell, and if they don’t, they don’t. Regardless, we did what we set out to do, which is do something completely artistically and creatively driven. This should remind you way more of the fine art process than the consumer goods process. And we’re going to continue delivering on this promise of true individuality. I can already tell you that next year’s Lake & Harriet eyewear will be completely different from what we’re doing right now.

Q. What does the launch of Lake & Harriet by eyebobs mean for the eyebobs brand?

A. The idea for Lake & Harriet by eyebobs was born out of feedback from our most loyal customers. They asked us to push our bold designs and shapes even further. We said, “Challenge accepted.”

I am so proud of what our team has created. We have raised the bar in the eyewear industry once again, just like we have been for the last 21 years.

Q. Why do you believe people will love this collection?

A. Our customers love to express themselves through their eyewear and understand that what you put on your face is so critical. The glasses in this line are true works of art. I can’t wait to provide people with the opportunity to wear this collection. I have the wonderful opportunity to observe the transformation that happens when our customers try on eyebobs for the first time, and I have a no doubt their grins will be even bigger and shoulders will go even further back when they try on Lake and Harriet by eyebobs frames.