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FRAME: Eyeglasses Cut From Sheet Metal to Reduce Waste

Looking for a way to reduce the amount of waste material when producing eyeglasses and sunglasses, RELVAOKELLERMANN decided to take a new approach. With eyewear being such a small product that has to take into account many things – comfort, nose size, distances between eyes and ears, durability, materials, etc. – not much by way of innovation has been happening in the field. RELVAOKELLERMANN saw MYKITA doing innovative things with frames being made from sheet metal that it got them thinking. Instead of laser cutting the front side of the glasses out of sheet metal, they realized they could produce a lot more pairs by cut the metal in a new way. That led to Frame.

They’re able to reduce waste significantly by cutting their glasses out as thin metal bands that are then shaped to form the frames. Not only is waste reduced, but more glasses can be cut out of a single sheet of metal thereby reducing production costs.

The band easily goes from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and is secured without the need for screws or welding. Just a note, they have incorporated a hinge, patented by MYKITA, to finish the glasses off.

While Frame is still in the concept stage, hopefully it will make it onto the market at some point.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.