How to Become an Eyewear Designer ~ Starting a Sunglass Line



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Eyewear Designer

Breaking Into and Succeeding as an Eyewear Designer
How to Start an Eyewear Line
How to Start a Sunglass Line

The state of the industry is by no means a static thing. Exciting developments are being advanced across the entire eyewear spectrum, and frame design is no exception to that rule.

Cool or not, the latest designer eyewear can cost a pretty penny. Not everyone wants to spend a fortune on the latest look from Ray-Ban. Instead, many people turn to factory direct stores and replica manufacturers for that designer look. They carry eyewear “inspired by” famous brand names and movie stars, allowing shoppers to get the look they want at a fraction of the price. The discount on replicas, of course, is even steeper; for under $20, you can purchase a pair of sunglasses that look an awful lot like the a designer's that retail for $250.

Of course, not every designer name costs half a rent check. Some very fashionable shades do come in an everyday affordable price range—for various values of “affordable”—without going through a clearance discount merchant first. Such recognizable names as Ray-Ban and Oakley have models in their catalogs that sell for $70-$80 (as opposed to the $120 models), and most DKNY products average out around $55.

As you can see, the range of the price-tags even within a single designer name can be very wide. As a fashion eyewear designer yourself, you have a lot of choice as to which part of that affordability spectrum you wish to target.

Other than designer frames and their budget replicas, the eyewear industry is much larger than a mere "luxury." Half of the U.S. population wear some sort of vision enhancements, including prescription glasses. One-fourth of school-aged children and most of the baby boomers wear reading glasses.

With the latest technology in frames and lenses, becoming an eyewear designer or starting an eyewear is easier than ever. There are outsourcing manufacturers that accept orders for private labeling or contract manufacturing.

With costs oftentimes as low as 5-25% of the retail price, eyewear is a very profitable business, especially when your brand has reached a certain acceptance by the public, which explains why more and more fashion designers start their own eyewear line that comes with a wide range of prices. The time to stat an eyewear line is now.

Good news for the fashion eyewear designer.

A bill was introduced to the U. S. House of Representatives on March 30, 2006, which, should it pass, will provide, for the first time, copyright protection for fashion design—which the fashion industry has been seeking since the 1920s.

We should thank the Council of Fashion Designers of America for this proposed amendment to Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act, which currently only protects the industrial design of vessel hulls, such as luxury racing sailboats and the like. Should H.R. 5055, a.k.a. “the Design Piracy Prohibition Act,” pass, the Copyright Act will be amended to protect "the appearance as a whole of an article of apparel, including its ornamentation" for three years from the date on which the design in question was published or made available to the public.

("Apparel" is defined to include "an article of men’s, women’s, or children’s clothing, including undergarments, outerwear, gloves, footwear, and headgear; handbags, purses and tote bags; belts; and eyeglass frames.")

Now if you're wondering whether you can start this business and make a decent living out of it, the answer is definitely yes. Now consider these possibilities in making and/or selling:

Sunglasses (high-end or mass products)
Prescription frames
Reading glasses
Fashion glasses
Designer frames
Utility glasses
Sports
Fancy
Special purpose
Adults
Children

Now, how much money can you make?

With all the above choices, your income potential is literally unlimited. Anywhere from $20,000 to millions of dollars is attainable, depending on various factors.

Need we say more?
This eGuide provides insightful information, advices and tips for anyone who is contemplating to start an eyewear line. Numerous hard-to-find resources are included to help you locate pertinent information.

Do you know?

More than 95.2 million eye exams were conducted during the 12-month period ending March 2005. This means that approximately 42.7% of the U.S. adult population received an eye exam during that year.
13.8% of the U.S. adult population—that’s 30.8 million people—wear glasses due to vision problems.
More than 10 million children suffer from visual problems.
Vision problems affect one in 20 preschoolers.
Vision disorders are a common pediatric problem in the United States, with an estimate of nearly 25 percent of school-age children having vision problems.
In 2000, an estimated 35 million Americans were age 65 or older, representing almost 13% of the total population.
By 2030 the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 20% of Americans will be 65 or older. The number of Americans with age-related eye diseases and the resulting vision impairment is expected to double within the next three decades.
Most perceive eyeglass wearers as either smart (40%) or sophisticated (39%), and professionals associated with wearing eyeglasses include librarians (74%), teachers (71%), lawyers (56%), artists (27%) and actors/movie stars (20%).

Editor-in-Chief Jennie S. Bev, co-author Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little have talked to several eyewear designers and line owners to provide you with the best and the most comprehensive self-study guidebook filled with insider information, tips and advice for breaking into and succeeding in this lucrative but lesser-known business.

About the Authors

Jennie S. Bev is THE fashion, image and fun careers expert, whose reputation has been acknowledged by prestigious media internationally. She has been profiled and mentioned in Entrepreneur, Teen People, Canadian Business, Home Business, Dong (France), San Francisco Chronicle, The Independent, Daily Southtown, The Arizona Republic, Femina (Asia) and Dewi (Asia).

Editor-in-Chief Jennie S. Bev was named 2003 EPPIE Award finalist in Non-Fiction How To category for excellence in electronic publishing. She has published over 40 books and 900 articles in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany and Southeast Asia. She is also a college professor based in San Francisco Bay Area.

Co-author Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little is an accomplished author, freelance writer, and web designer from the New Orleans area. She graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School and went from there to the University of Washington to pursue B.A. in English.

Her fiction and essays have been published in a diverse handful of literary and New Age magazines, including PanGaia. An aspiring novelist, she has been an annual participant in National Novel-Writing Month since 2002. She now resides in Colorado.

This 57-page instantly downloadable StyleCareer.com eGuide Breaking Into and Succeeding as an Eyewear Designer brings you valuable insider tips, advice and suggestions not available elsewhere to help you embark on this highly lucrative career path.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Myths, the Realities, and the Basics
I’m not very creative and I’m not a household name fashion designer.
I don’t own a manufacturing plant for eyewear.
I like fashion and style, but I am not familiar with industrial design.
I’m not familiar with the trainings that I need to go through to become a fashion eyewear designer.
I prefer to work for an eyewear design firm. Where can I find them?
I prefer to design an eyewear line under my own brand. What’s my future?

Statistics and Trends
Luxury Goods Trends
Ophthalmic Products: Trends, Materials, and New Developments
Demographics and Statistics for the Vision Care Market
Fashion Goods: Designer Eyewear on a Limited Budget
Future Trends in Eyewear Frame Industrial Design

Getting Ready for the Big Break
Personality Traits
Short Courses and Trainings
Top Trainings in This Field
Basic Principles in Designing Eyewear
Eyewear Design Competitions

Starting a Career in Eyewear Designing
Show Me the Money
Getting Hired by Reputable Eyewear Design Firms
Apprentice
Starting Your Own Eyewear Design Business

Starting Your Own Eyewear Line
The Ultimate Goal: Starting Your Own Line
Trademark Importance, Branding and Positioning Your Line
Hiring Your Team of Eyewear Designers
Outsourcing the Manufacturing

Success Profiles

This eGuide literally saves you hundreds or even thousands of dollars spent on professional workshops and training and hundreds of hours of research. It will help you break into the career of your dream faster without having to repeat the same mistakes that most newcomers do.

We have also included resources on the following:

Trade and networking associations
Trade shows and expos worldwide
Training courses worldwide
Eyewear design competitions
Outsourcing manufacturers (accepting private labeling)

You can have this exclusive eGuide right away by instant download for only $99.95, which you will earn many times over with your first paid job. This special low discount price is reserved for today, Saturday, 13-Mar-2010 09:20:52 PST only. (Regular price: $119.95)

Breaking Into and Succeeding
as an Eyewear Designer
Regular Price: $119.95
Sale Price: $99.95

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