Our designs are as comfortable as they are
stylish. Protos 3D printed frames are tailored to fit your unique facial
structure and dimensions so you can look and feel great.
Protos Eyewear is a San Francisco-based company. We use a manufacturing
process called 3D printing, which allows us to create striking designs
that would otherwise be impossible to make through traditional
manufacturing methods. Our proprietary bioplastic is extremely
lightweight, flexible, and hypoallergenic.
We will be launching
a crowdfunding campaign where we hope to raise $100,000 in 60 days. In
exchange for peoples' donations, we will be offering our products at a
highly discounted rate. Our project was declined on Kickstarter, but we
have decided to continue the campaign using our own crowdfunding
platform.
Protos has been spearheaded by Marc Levinson, John Mauriello, Doug Ponciano, Richart Ruddie, and James Peo.
It all started when we were in our studio class at California College
of the Arts. While pondering ways to utilize our combined talents, Marc
noticed that Doug's glasses kept slipping off the bridge of his nose.
Doug had been working on algorithms to make rapidly customizable CAD
designs, John had prior experience with designing eyewear, Marc was
helping manage the 3D printers in the school's rapid prototyping studio,
and Richart Ruddie had experience on the business and marketing side.
We were later joined by James Peo, who is a world class eyewear stylist
and entrepreneur.
We resolved to make a truly consumer grade
product through the process of 3D printing and decided that customizable
eyewear was the perfect thing to start with. Over the last two years,
we've been developing a proprietary material and workflow that yields a
product we are very proud to sell directly to customers.
3D
printing changes the way we look at design and manufacturing. With no
tooling involved, it allows us to make one-off products with shapes that
are impossible to achieve through traditional manufacturing methods.
The manufacturing process is done entirely in the US, which allows us to
help bring jobs back here. It also speaks to our commitment to quality.
In addition to creating new products, we have
developed software that enables us to reference photos of a person's
face. From there, we can identify the best frame styles and change
various dimensions in the design. The result is a frame that is custom
fit to the user's unique face shape.
Even with all of this in
place, we are still missing the last piece of the puzzle. If we want to
provide frames to a large audience, we need to connect our back end
software to a user friendly online interface.
This will allow
us to fit frames more efficiently and get them to you in a timely
manner. We will also be able to place a large order with our
manufacturer. Although there is no tooling up for these glasses, there
is still an economy of scale when producing them. As a result, we will
be able to offer our glasses at a more affordable price.
We
want to help bring forth the next revolution in design and
manufacturing. We are hopeful that the launch of our crowdfunding
campaign will bring us to the next level.
