Glaja Mayne and Suzan McDowell have partnered to create a line of fashion eyewear called “If Eye Ever,” and the brand is getting noticed. Celebrities, including Tina Knowles and Van Jones, have been spotted sporting what the founders call “face art”.
The totally unique and lens-less frames made available by Mayne and McDowell are hand-crafted by local artisans who think globally. The designer frames are meant to inspire wearers to think, dream and consider the possibilities of “If I ever….” The eyewear is made for individuals who put a high value on self-expression and, say the creators, put “love over hate and dreams over inertia.” The custom frames are hand-wrapped so each pair is unique and are meant to symbolize the wearer’s unique personality. Because African fabrics that feature daring geometric patterns are used to wrap the frames, the hand-crafting aspect of the line is highlighted.
Suzan McDowell, co-founder and brand manager of If Eye Ever, came up with the idea of putting Dutch wax fabric together with a lens-less frame. Since 2002, she has been the force behind Circle of One Marketing, a top marketing agency that has gained an excellent reputation for its work ethic and ability to deliver high-quality results. The agency has built numerous brands, including the national brands of OneUnited Bank, the largest black-owned bank in the United States. It has also branded Jazz in the Gardens, the fastest-growing jazz and R&B festival in the US. Suzan combines her visionary thinking with business knowledge and emotional and strategic intelligence, which gives If Eye Ever, Inc. what it needs to become a global brand.
Glaja Mayne, co-founder and lead designer of the firm, focuses on perfecting product design and the evolution of other items of the If Eye Ever eyewear brand. Her copyrighted design style and assembly are central to the If I Ever appeal. She has been nurturing her love of fabrics, detail and quality for the past 25 years, combining it with her passion to create high fashion accessories that include jewellery. Glaja is best known for her one-of-a-kind, over-sized, asymmetrical handbags and clutches. She uses unique African wax fabric, animal skins, exotic upholstery, vibrant paint and natural stones together with fine fabrics to create diverse and detailed hand-crafted items. She deliberately buys rare pieces that may never surface again to satisfy her love of originality.
In a joint statement, Suzan McDowell and Glaja Mayne said, “We are so thrilled to bring this totally unique product to market, lens-less frames wrapped in African fabric. If Eye Ever is a labour of love that has enormous growth potential. Our patent-pending lens-less frames are ‘eye candy’ for the bold and unique fashionista! This is Jamaican ingenuity in the form of “face jewellery.”
Photo source: Instagram, If Eye Ever
