Warby Parker was founded in 2012 by four friends and business school grads, David Gilboa, Neil Blumenthal, Jeffrey Raider and Andrew Hunt. The company, named for early Jack Kerouac characters Zagg Parker and Warby Pepper, changes the eyewear game with their innovative business model and their partnership with non-profit VisionSpring. We chatted with co-founder Neil Blumenthal and got a little more insight into the brand.

Why Richmond?

Richmond has always been an epicenter of history and culture – anyone can see just by looking at the city’s diverse architecture. One prominent feature we noticed was the unique concentration of cast-iron architecture all over balconies, fences and porches. Our very own flagship store in New York is located on the longest stretch of cast-iron architecture in the world so we definitely feel right at home in Richmond. We also liked the way Richmond’s citizens have preserved the past while mixing in a contemporary attitude. In a similar nod to yesteryear, all of our frames are inspired by the now vintage glasses our grandparents wore in the 40s and 50s. Classic, timeless, but at times disruptive, a little like Patrick Henry.

Why is Need Supply Co a good fit for the showroom?

Need Supply Co. has a powerful point of view and a strong commitment to community. It’s a perfect match!

What is the design process like? What inspires the frames?

We have a team of superbly talented designers. Our cultural diet at Warby Parker is diverse, and we’re all inspired by big range of influences—French New Wave films, hardboiled detective stories, military heroes, old Hollywood stars. Every day it seems like someone here has a new pet obsession, and you can pick up on some of these references in the frames.

What inspired you to specifically get into eyewear?

Back in 2008, I met with my friends (and Wharton classmates) Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt and Jeffrey Raider for drinks. Dave had recently lost his eyeglasses traveling, and he was appalled at how much it would cost to replace them—around $400 for a pair of designer frames. Jeff was in the same boat. It was a clear moment for all of us: something needed to be done.

I had previously served as the director of VisionSpring, a nonprofit organization that trains low-income men and women to start their own businesses by selling affordable glasses in developing communities. This experience taught me that glasses can be designed and sourced for a price that ends up being affordable for people living on less than $4 per day. So if that’s possible, it’s pretty obvious that glasses don’t have to cost a ridiculous amount.

We kicked off the showroom with a launch party including drinks inspired by the most popular frames and invited our friends. Thanks to our friends at Saison, Goatacado, Mr. Frostee, and DJ Robot E. Lee.

Party photos by Cameron Lewis.

Click here to see our Warby Parker Photo Booth.

Special thanks to Space LES for hosting us, DJ Lucas Walters for playing the jams, Heineken for providing beer, and to our friends at Capsule.

Photos of the journey, destination, and party by Will Godwin. Video by Duy Nguyen.

Snag a copy of Issue 2 here.

Tips to Keep in Mind

• When choosing flowers to use in your head wreath, research the varieties and how long they hold up outside of water.
• If you’re using this for a wedding or event, make your wreath only a few hours prior to the event.
• When not wearing, keep your wreath spritzed with fresh water and store in the fridge or a cool location. This will give the out-of-water flowers longevity.
• If you choose to create an asymmetrical composition for your floral wreath with a pop of flowers on one side, you may need to secure the wreath with bobby pins on the opposite side to counter the weight of the flowers.

Materials

• craft wire
• flowers
• floral tape
• vines (optional)

Instructions

1. Using wire or a thin woody vine, wrap it around your head to find the desired circumference. We love our wreaths to hug the head at an angle as opposed to being parallel to the ground. If using a vine like we chose, cut the vine to fit and secure the ends together with wire to form your wreath base.

2. Looking in a mirror, determine the placement of your floral pops and mark accordingly. Once you wire one cluster of flowers, reposition the wreath on your head to see if you need to make any adjustments and/or additions.

3. We wrapped our more delicate flowers with floral tape to lock in moisture. Then, with the wire, we secured clusters of flowers around the perimeter. Once we inserted our flowers, we went back in with greens to add texture and mask the stems. Crisscrossing the wire holds the stems to the vine; this makes it easy to squeeze the greens into the wreath by gently adding them between the floral stems and the wire.

4. Try it on! Are you starting to feel like a lady of antiquity? Want more, want less? Make adjustments and secure with bobby pins if the wreath tilts to one side or another.

Instructions source. Lead image source, all otherwise via Pinterest.

Top photos by Alexander Iezzi. L-R: Joserra Puelles, Fabienne Feltus, Ulli Barta, Marilyn Rondon, Alessio Scarafia, Joserra Puelles, Ani Asvazadurian, Roxanne Danner, Marilyn Rondon, Meredith Wilson, Stixxx, Anne Bowerman.

Silas Adler, head designer of Soulland, says, “I have been a fan of the Babar universe since I was four years old, so it was a great honor being able to work on this collaboration. I was particularly inspired by a story from the first book, where Babar goes to the tailor to get his first suit; a bright green suit. I like the link and the relevance to menswear in that story.” Often seen in a suit or dinner jacket, a bowtie, a hat or sometimes even a crown, Babar is easily the most well-dressed of all children’s cartoon characters.

All drawings used in Soulland’s printed collection were originally created by the author, illustrator, and “father” of Babar, Jean de Brunhoff. This isn’t Brunhoff’s first link to the fashion industry, however; his brother Michel was an Editor of French Vogue, and his brother-in-law published another French fashion magazine. Eighty years later, Babar himself makes his official fashion debut.

Need Supply Co is proud to be one of only a handful of shops to carry the limited edition Babar X Soulland capsule collection, now available in store and online. Shop Soulland here.

Shop our selection of Epokhe here.

Stay tuned for the second issue of Human Being Journal, featuring a conversation with Kai Neville.

Kenny (played so well by Seth Green) instantly creates a character that you either love or hate – but really just love. The character that Green creates was nearly pulled off with perfection. Was he method acting during this or could he just snap into that forced accent and attitude as soon as his chain wallet and hair braids were in?

No matter what your opinion on that character and the words that came out of his mouth, if you were in your teens when you first watched Can’t Hardly Wait then Kenny Fisher is a character you’ll never forget. Over that one high school night, Kenny sure did win our hearts.