Inspired

Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of someone else's inspiration and bam, you go on a favoriting frenzy, finding a million awesome things, talking to new people, and feeling well, inspired. I felt like that this morning. Today has been insanely busy, of course, I finally got a good number of sunglasses prepped, glued up and ready to be cut out. I drank so much coffee today, got an awesome email about a pretty rad wholesale order (SOUTH AFRICA), organized and changed up displays in the local shop, made plans for an aweosme giveaway on the blog for next month, washed my hair (I know, right!) made a pizza and watched a not-so scary movie (The Forgotten) with the mister and now here I am ready to show you where some of that inspiration came from.

We were featured in a treasury this morning, and I'm not going to lie, we get featured in a lot of treasuries. (Thank you!!) Normally I peek, click, comment, and move on because although they are usually nice, they don't pull me in. I guess I am just jaded, or so busy my brain is kind of fried. But this morning, I clicked on the treasury link and proceeded to go to every single one of the shops featured.

First and foremost, our birds eye maple sunglasses were the ones featured, so you can imagine how nicely they fit in with all of the other shops. (I'm featuring products that were not in the treasury, so if you want to see the items that were originally featured, check out the original treasury!)

Mr.Lentz is probably one of my new favorite shops. His craftsmanship is incredible! You really do have to go through his shop to get the whole range, but even this little ring makes my heart melt.

Dolce Crochet is full of dainty and beautiful yarn work. Each piece is immaculate and the photography and styling of the shop is so good! I really wish I had the patience and talent to crochet this good, but my crochet is sooo sad. I know someone who is really good at it, too.

Okay, I am not joking when I say I want these rings. And a lot of other stuff from Autumn Equinox. Just go look. Seriously. This. and This.

And, honestly, these are too good to not want. From tealandgold

And lastly, I can't wear these, but that doesn't mean I can't swoon over them. Dang it stupid gauges that I hate now and will never close up. Jibby and Juna.

Whew. I hope you saw the same magic that I did. Heavens knows I have been nothing short of a brain dead zombie recently. It feels good to get motivated and out of the fog.

xo,

Beca

Hey San Diego!!

Come get your photo taken (with odd props,) eat some BBQ, listen to good music by Chris Hall and play in our shop on Saturday evening! Hope to see you there!

xo,

Beca

Life as we Know it.

Things you need to know today:

I love my dogs more than I love most humans.

I work hard. And I feel guilty for sleeping, blogging, or reading a book when I could be working.

Coca-Cola runs through my veins and no matter how many times I try to break up with it, it's just never going to happen.

I started Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and I want to cut all of my limbs off.

Today is another busy one, but at least Doug is going to open the shop and I will have some time to clean my side of the workshop, organize orders and get cracking.

What is keeping you busy lately?

xo,

Beca

Here Comes the Sun

Street fair is tomorrow. Please come say hi!!!!

That is all.

xo,

Beca

Snake Skin + Bonnie Billy + Panic Attacks

Doug finished these one of a kind pair of snakeskin sunglasses this morning. Our buddy Shawn who opened the local shop with us, lives out on a ranch right now. He found a rattlesnake by the horses and had to kill it. Rattlesnakes are really dangerous in Tucson, especially on the horse ranches, so Shawn had to kill it. He isn't unkind though. He fried it up, ate it and saved the skin for us.

Of course, Doug figured out a way to adhere it to the sunglasses and created these beautiful one of a kind shades. They are strange, I know, but the craftsmanship is immaculate and they really are unique. What do you think?

I wanted to share a song with you today too. There isn't much to say about it except it is probably one of my favorites, of all time.

The panic has set in. Our etsy shop sales have dropped so significantly, and our local store has been really quiet this week. It's scary, taking risks and relying on something that isn't set in stone. We try to stay positive. It's all you can do. :)

Hope all is well in your parts! We have the street fair this weekend and are pretty pumped about that! What do you think of the new layout? I'm still learning and testing the water!

xo,

Beca

Pup-Cake

It's a confetti choclate cake ball, no, it's a Boston Terrier, okay, it's both. I love my dogs, and I love making cake, so I thought today I would combine the two. Here it is!

Extra chocolate cake, confetti sprinkles and chocolate buttercream make this little guy delicious and fun to eat!

Hope he made you smile!

xo,

Beca

The Amazing Rosita Mustache

I have mentioned Rosita Mustache before and I can't stress enough how much I love her beautiful paintings. I gushed about her work so much that my dear friend/neighbor headed right over to her shop and got a painting for her sister. I snagged it before it was gifted because I wanted to share how much I love it. It is quirky and surreal. But also, Rosita captures the expressions of the animals she paints to perfection. I still gush over mine every day, and I swear you won't be dissappointed if you head on over to her shop and get one for yourself.

What do you love about this painting??

xo,

Beca

This Face

You don't see this face very often, but my oh-so elusive kitty wanted to say hi this morning. He's such a good looking old man, he'll be 15 this year. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday. I'm off to work.

xo,

Beca

A Process

I worry a lot that people wonder why it takes 2-3 weeks, and sometimes longer, for their sunglasses to be done, and I wanted to address that.

1 // As a small business, we rely largely on suppliers for our wholesale frames, adhesive, and finish enamel. We have tested hundreds (okay, maybe not hundreds) of different products and now that we have perfected our process, we only use the products that have met our high standards. In turn, that means sometimes we have to wait on getting those products. Because we are a family run business and work out of a small make-shift studio in our home, we don't have the means to buy in bulk and keep our stock plentiful. We purchase supplies as we go and often times, that means we run the risk of running out of something. We do our best to keep our supplies as plentiful as we can, but it isn't easy, especially when we are often waiting on a supplier to get their product to us...

2 // There is only two of us! Shawn, our business partner still lives in Arizona, so he helps when he comes out, but 98% of the time, it's still just us. We usually end up working 18-19 hour days. And honestly, there just isn't enough time for us to meet the demand we have been faced with. We are so thankful everyone loves our sunglasses, but with that, we only ask that our customers understand how hard we are working. And it is so easy to get behind. We are about a week behind right now, which means some sunglasses are taking a month to get in the mail. It breaks my heart to know that, but at this point, we are just making sunglasses in the order that they come and ask kindly for understanding.

3 // Life happens. The blackout set us back. Doug has been sick with the flu (and still working 14 hour days) and sometimes, I have to take a break to do laundry, or make dinner. That's just life. These are just sunglasses. We can only do so much.

4 // Would you believe the weather has anything to do with how fast an order gets completed. Well, it does. It gets humid in SD and we are slowly learning that veneer just wont adhere in the humidity. So we leave them in the press longer, sometimes 5, 6 days. It's the only way. Nobody is doing what we're doing. Most veneer craftsmen will tell you it's impossible. But we figured out how to make it work. It just takes a lot of time.

5 // Unfortunately, in today's economy, this isn't our only job. We now have a store front to maintain and I still work 3 days a week at the bakery. We strive to make our sunglasses affordable, but we still have to pay our bills and buy groceries. This isn't a hobby. Doug does this full time. And for the amount of hours and love I put in, I do too.

Now, speaking of, I'm getting back to work. Now that we got our enamel, the glasses that should have gone out Friday will finally be in the mail tomorrow and maybe, just maybe we'll get caught up before this weekend.

Talk to me folks, how do you deal with your handmade to-order items and managing a small business. Are you a customer? Did this help? Let us know!!

xo,

Beca (& Doug)

Absolutely, Positively

I may or may not have done the following things today:

1 // drove to the grocery store at 8am, while Doug was still sleeping to get toaster waffles and Jimmy Dean sausage for breakfast. I also bought Oreos and Ramen.

2 // had a fender bender in the parking lot of trader joe's with an old man driving a fancy oldsmobile type car. He shrugged his shoulders and said no damage done, don't lose sleep over it, shook my hand and drove away.

3 // bought more melmac wicker cups that I don't need at the swap meet just because Doug loves them so much. (I'll have to share my collection one of these days, it's just stupid..)

4 // made ramen for dinner, at 10pm, because really, why not. At least I put a ton of broccoli in it.

5 // used one year old Christmas candy I found in our stockings for product photography. Yes, we are getting ready for Christmas, why aren't you? By the way, I bought my dad his Christmas present today on etsy. I also made a vow to only buy handmade this year for the holidays. I think it's totally feasible, and I invite you to do the same!!! More on that later!

Did I mention we have a new style of super rad sunglasses in the shop now?

Just in time for fall! Yes, oh yes we do! One of the reasons why I love these sunglasses so much is that they use all the extra pieces of veneer that I have been hiding away. Not scraps, just beautiful strips that were to small to use. Now they have a purpose, and don't have to get thrown away. {Like we throw anything away...} I like to think of these as the big sister to the Pee Wees, which we are still making, by the way!

So that's that. Our day was eventful, although I'm not going to lie, I would kind of like a day off soon. Maybe after the Adams Avenue Street Fair next weekend. Definitely, after that. We need one entire day off. I'm sure you understand. :)

Have a great week! We have some awesome things happening and I'll keep ya'll in the know! Thanks for all the support and love!

xo,

Beca

New York Fashion Week // Pt 2

{above photos via ecotools}

Finally a little face time! Here is a little write up the designer Suzanne Rae got for her show, and there are our sunglasses. Right there!!!! I am so proud of how hard we worked on the collection we sent to her and despite a city-wide power outage, being up to our elbows in orders and opening up a brick and mortar shop, we got them out there on time and they adorned the runway with Suzanne's incredible collection!

And here is a little video of the show. You get a few close-ups of our sunglasses!

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement, this has been such an exciting journey for us!

xo,

Beca & Doug

Fall into Autumn

We make sunglasses (and eye wear) and since we live in Southern California, it isn't too hard to wear sunglasses year round. But, not everyone thinks sunglasses are a go-to during the fall/winter months. So, I thought I would make a list for all ya'll why sunglasses make sense year round!

1 // Snow glare is an even bigger issue than sun glare and our veneered sunglasses offer UV protection and we have polarized available upon request. Keep your eyes safe when you hit the slopes and look rad at the same time!

2 // Nothing goes better with the burnt oranges and mustard tones of autumn than natural wood grain. We leave an open grain on our sunglasses so you can actually see every nook and cranny the tree had to share.

3 // Having the prettiest sunglasses will give you a great excuse to get out of the house, even when it isn't so warm out, and go an adventure. Go where it's a little warmer, where you can stretch out against an autumn sun.

4 // Sunglasses make the perfect stocking stuffer. Perfect size, and a great something to look forward to as the days get warmer.

5 // Lastly, there is nothing classier than a woman in sunglasses. For example.

Have a great night, pals!

xo,

Beca

Dexter Riding Boots

Check out these 1970s Dexter riding boots we got in for the shop. I am so in love, but story of my life, they don't fit me. They are a size 9, and in what seems to be the most perfect broken in condition. They're in the shop, somebody come swoop them up! It will break my heart to see them sit, so lonesome for too long.

Are you dying over these beauties too? What's your go-to fall clothing/accessories?

xo,

Beca

Breakfast

I have learned over time that no matter how busy you are, there is nothing more special than making a little breakfast and sitting down with the one you love to drink coffee and rejuvinate your body for a busy day.

Today is going to be our first full day open and I am excited to share with everyone the amazing boxes of stuff Doug's sister sent us. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for updates all day long! (I can't blog from the shop, but I will be posting photos all day!) And if you want to stop by, we would love to see you!! (Charlie is going to be my little shop assistant, so you're get to squeeze him too!)

And also, I wanted to give you a little hint of a super awesome fall inspired contest we're going to be hosting this weekend. Here's the hint, in photo form!!

xo,

Beca

Sweet Dream

So much has been happening these past few days. I just got the fashion show, but I can't share them just quite yet. And about 100 million other things going on. We realized today that we needed to adjust the shop hours, so if you check out the facebook page for our shop you can see our new hours and more awesome stuff.

I hope everyone has an awesome night. I can't even see straight right now, so I think I may crawl under the covers and try again tomorrow.

xo,

Beca

(ps, the Macaron is from today and they are ginger cream. Yum)

New York Fashion Week // Suzanne Rae

Tomorrow, our sunglasses will be drifting down the runway with the beautiful collection of Suzanne Rae. I wish we were in New York to see it all happen!

DRIFT from Alexandra Roxo on Vimeo.

xo,

Beca

Grand Opening

We opened our shop yesterday and it was so much fun! I don't have a lot of time to write about it right now, but I wanted to share some photos from the opening and little pieces of our shop. I promise to write about the experience of opening a shop and the whole thing very soon!

Our incredible sign was painted by Mike Zimmer. He has amazing wood burnings on display at Le Stats and will have some of his hart in our shop!

I was hoping for a mellow day, but I have a house to clean and sunglasses to glue up. Still lots to do. I hope you liked the photos. Did you get a chance to stop by the shop? What do you think?

xo,

Beca