Supernormal: The Down To Earth Eyewear Brand
Goda Narijauskaite’s eyewear brand is anything but normal – made from hypoallergenic biodegradable plastic, her glasses are comfortable, adjustable and durable, with a distinctive designer’s touch on the temples.
When and where did you first begin?
I have been working in fashion for the past eight years. Even before my first attempts, I was curious about the current trends in fashion, so naturally this world always seemed quite exciting.
After building my first brand and starting to sell at various fairs, pop-ups, and to clients in my own studio, I came to the realization of how fault-finding my clientele were towards themselves. They criticized the form of their face, the colour or size of their eyes, double chins, scars, moles and so on.
For quite a while I would criticize myself too, but after seeing the damage from afar, it was noticeable that this self-criticism and meek self-appreciation is a widespread tendency. I thought to myself – all of these facial and body features, all of our ubiquitous differences are what creates the human character, a piece of their history. How can all that be unlovely?
So Supernormal was born from this and it carries the message that there is no objective explanation for beauty, so there should not be an objective beauty standard.
Where does your design inspiration come from?
The most important aspect for me is that the products I design are comfortable and of long-lasting quality – something that will not end up in the trash in two years.
The designs themselves are a combination of classic shapes and styles, with mixes of colour and patterns. When I was designing the first collection, I was extremely bold and wanted my work to pop with colour and ambition. Now, that sort of attention is not needed in my life. I prefer something more warm-toned, simple and classic.
I think this brand, Supernormal, is my personal reflection. In many years I will look back and visually see how I have changed, and how life has changed around me.
Describe your brand in 3 words.
I would describe Supernormal as “down to earth”.
What is the most difficult aspect of running your own label?
My biggest obstacle in the beginning was not asking for help. To create Supernormal, it took me 8 years to figure out how to do business, learn from my own mistakes, and pay for them. It was a long period of time and I believe it could have been done faster if I had sought help from mentors and had not tried to learn everything from scratch.
Getting an internship with a brand or a designer is a great way to start out. There are plenty of things you do not know before starting out or did not even know existed. It is a process of continuous learning.
Which part of the creative process do you enjoy most and least?
I would say I enjoy everything the same. It is all a process and everything leads to the end product.
Although, drawing up the collection alone in the middle of the forest for an entire week was a refreshment to the soul. I enjoyed it very much.
Do you have a mentor?
Like I mentioned before, I was quite the individualist, I wanted to do everything by myself and in a way I became my own mentor.
How long did your latest collection take to create?
Before starting Supernormal I decided to do research through drop-shipping inexpensive plastic sunglasses and gaining the knowledge of the business. Starting right off with an independent collection would have bankrupted me financially and spiritually. I needed to gain feedback from my clients to understand what people appreciate and look for when shopping for eyewear. Also, to understand how a frame fits and how it can be comfortable.
When plastic glasses are manufactured, the cheap and hot plastic oil mass is poured into a mold, and this way thousands of them can be made in a day. Does the cheapness of the material and production time equal to the quality of the final product? Definitely, yes. Plastic-based frames are easy to break, and the choice of production and the material is far from being friendly to earth. When the plastic mass has hardened in a set form of the frame, nothing can be done to adjust them.
So finally, after a long search for partners and manufacturers through various optic fairs around the world, I came across this oil-free, bioplastic material – cellulose acetate, which happened to solve all of my biggest issues! The acetate is a nylon-based plastic, made from processed wood pulp. It is durable, lightweight and flexible. It is also hypoallergenic.
In contrast with oil-based plastic, this cellulose acetate comes from a renewable resource. And, is also biodegradable.
And finally – they are adjustable. These acetate glasses can be slightly bent in the area around the nose, making the glasses more narrow or wider, the legs of the frame will not press on the temples because they can be shifted according to the height and length of your ears. We are not saying that this material is unbreakable, it just has the quality to be much more flexible than its rivals.
By creating these frames we are not polluting the earth with unnecessary amounts of oil, but compared to the oil-based plastic glasses which are mass-produced and made in a couple of days, our acetate frames are handcrafted over the course of 3 months, so obviously this in itself is a more expensive item. And simply, I really wanted to make my glasses only from the material I would actually wear myself.
So, in simple terms, the latest collection was my first collection and it took me a lot of willpower, design time and research, to launch the collection.
What are your future plans?
The future plans are for Spring 2021, for the new collection launch!
Which pieces do you think everyone should have in their wardrobe?
It depends, there is no “one frame fits all” idea. I think people can feel which pieces are the ones for them. Of course, having a black statement eyewear piece is a recommendation, but not everyone likes the colour black. For some people, a baby blue frame is a must-have.
What attracted you to The Clothing Lounge?
The global market reach.
Make sure to shop SUPERNORMAL's sunglasses and computer glasses here: SUPERNORMAL
