Creating your own eyewear brand is damn hard — and that’s exactly why we built Gatsby

The Idea behind Gatsby

The idea for Gatsby was born during a trip to Cadore — the place with the highest concentration of eyewear manufacturers in the world.

After knocking on the doors of dozens of eyewear producers and being turned away every time, I kept asking myself why producing eyewear is so difficult. Reaching out to manufacturers at MIDO and SILMO didn’t help either — not even meeting them in person made it possible to place an order.

After weeks of trying, I finally found a manufacturer willing to listen. But I was faced with very high minimum order quantities, unclear pricing, and long lead times that pushed my small brand to the back of the line.

It makes sense, of course. Eyewear is a complex product made of many components, some of which require highly precise tools to produce. Why would a factory already making millions give priority to a small brand with a limited budget?

After that trip to Cadore, I couldn’t stop wondering: Is it possible to make this production process more accessible? The answer is yes — it is possible.

While looking for a factory to produce my brand, I discovered an incredible community of small workshops specializing in small-batch production. That’s when I realized this is where the true craftsmanship and beauty of eyewear lie.

With Gatsby, you gain access to a network of small-batch producers, allowing you to produce on demand or buy directly from their stock with little to no upfront investment.

This way, opticians can source premium frames, add exceptional quality to their collections, and improve their margins by launching their own brand.