We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kai Alcé. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kai below.

Alright, Kai thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

So the initial premise or idea behind my designs was that most eyewear companies only offer one or two colors in a particular model, also usually the colors are tortoiseshell & black. Unless they are sunglasses then you can get more bold colors, but what if you don’t want them shaded? This is where I stood. I like colorful frames bold but not shaded, hence the creation on Kai Alcé Eyewear.

Kai, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So I have been a DJ for over 30 years, and I have always been know for the House Music I play and the glasses I wore. After many years of compliments for my eyewear, many began suggesting that I start my own eyewear. Which is how I got in the industry.

As being a record label owner for some years I knew some things about running a business independently, but learning the eyewear industry has been a learning curve. How frames get sold to optical stores, learning about shading and what the industry standards are.

The limited bold colors (100 or less of any one color) & shading options are what sets Kai Alcé Eyewear apart from other eyewear.

I am most proud of the quality of product I offer. The custom collapsable case & cloth are added bonuses. These attributes are what I’d like the customer focus on when they purchase.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As many did during the lockdown I took on this new endeavor, creating the eyewear. Not know when we would once socialize again in the clubs I had to look into the next thing in my life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I don’t know if it was unlearning but maybe moreso learning that because people trust your opinion on one subject or product, in my case music. Did not automatically transfer to them trusting my process into making eyewear. It wasn’t until I got the product into some consumers hands did it really capture their interest.

Contact Info:

• Website: kaialceeyewear.com
• Instagram: @kaialceeyewear
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaialceeyewear

Image Credits
Stefan Ringer, Marie Staggat, Quantrell Colbert