Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nancey Harris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nancey, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

The concept for Vontélle was born out of a need of both founders Tracy Vontélle Green and Nancey Harris, who wanted better fitting glasses, color and culture. When they did not find what they wanted, they created it.

These luxurious designs are tailored to empower humanity to see the world through a cultural and global lens. Vontélle offers optical frames and sunglasses in sizes that compliment diverse faces.

Nancey, 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?

In 2019 Nancey and Tracy visited an eyewear expo in Paris with nearly 10,000 attendees. Immediately, they realized the industry is 99% male dominated and Caucasian. During their trip, they saw thousands of glasses and met eyewear manufacturers and designers, but nothing like what they envisioned. This served as their “aha moment.” There was simply no choice other than to create a new narrative and vision for the eyewear industry. It is Tracy and Nancey’s goal to add more diversity and culture to the world of eyewear.

Immediately, the founders developed a concept to address and serve the needs of the overlooked and underrepresented in the eyewear industry. These designs are tailored to empower humanity to see the world through a cultural and global lens. The brand offers optical frames and sunglasses in sizes that compliment diverse faces. Vontélle offers wider bridges for the nose, longer temples for behind the ears and larger lenses for high cheekbones to fit more comfortably.

Additionally, they added culture by designing & manufacturing eyewear with unique textile designs and patterns from African Diaspora (African, Caribbean & Latin).

We want customers to feel special and fall in love with our eyewear for the style and fit. The incredible reviews, personal posts and emails we’ve received to date is the impact we envisioned. It is important to note, Vontélle offers a unique protection for consumers by providing a one-year/one-time replacement warranty for lost, stolen, damaged, or broken glasses. Eyewear is a medical necessity and providing prescriptions at an affordable price to our consumers is important to us. We stand behind the brand!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Tracy Vontélle Green and Nancey Harris met at the National Treasure, Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. Tracy was a transfer student entering her sophomore year and Nancey an incoming freshman. They met during move-in day through a mutual friend. Ironically, they were both from New York and hit it off immediately. Over the years they have celebrated life together through both good and somber times.

In 2019 they went from being best friends to business partners. Their long-term goal is to make Vontélle a recognized and household name globally. “We want to change the way you see and are seen!”

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Vontélle has been in business for 3 years. In 2019 and early 2020, we focused on eyewear technicalities, creating prototypes and website development. We officially launched on October 1st, 2020, amongst chaos in both of our worlds. In December of 2019, Tracy was diagnosed with diabetes 1.5 (Type 1 & Type 2), while Nancey watched her home go up in flames 9 days before the official launch date of Vontélle.

Prior to Tracy’s diagnosis, she had never suffered any major health crisis, yet this new discovery threatened her livelihood. Tracy was CFO of a hospital, and in March of 2020, the world would change forever as Covid 19 began to rage through the nation taking millions of lives and we entered a pandemic worldwide. Hospital workers are essential, and Tracy was the rutter that steered the ship ensuring the hospital’s finances were in order, they received adequate funding and payroll was met. The risk factors of being exposed and infected were very real while the vaccine had not yet become available.

Nancey had just checked in at the Lenox Hill Radiology Center for her annual mammogram when she received an alarming call from her husband that their house was on fire. She raced home to see flames shooting out of her son’s bedroom and firemen busting windows to put out the fire. She was relieved that both her husband and son were safe. However, the Harris’ were now displaced and trying to figure out their next steps.

Still, none of that mattered. The co-founders could either wallow in pity or build an enterprise. Tracy and Nancey chose the latter and here they are today, making power moves. In July 2021, Vontélle entered a licensing deal with Paramount to produce children’s eyewear inspired by Nickelodeon characters such as Baby Shark, SpongeBob, Rugrats, Paw Patrol and more. They are the first women of color to acquire this deal and intend to continue to stay on this path to grow and scale their business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vontelle.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/vontelleeywear
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/vontelle
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/vontelle
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/vontelleeyewear
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKCi4X_9ObPlu8x5CIy7iw

Image Credits
Darren Talent Felix Natal, Jr.