Ann Arbor Wooden Eyewear Brand to Launch First Collection Next Spring

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The first line of handmade wood sunglasses from Feller Shades, a new, Ann Arbor-based wooden eyewear brand, is expected to launch next March.

They company’s first collection, which will be available online, will include men’s and women’s sunglasses handmade from domestic and exotic hardwoods, as well as some repurposed materials, such as skateboard deck wood.

All sunglasses feature polarized lenses, are treated with a polyurethane finish, and are crafted with reinforced metal spring hinges.

The company’s mission is to donate a portion of its profits from every pair of glasses sold to plant trees through the National Forest Foundation. Each frame is also named in honor of a U.S. National Forest.

“We want to pay homage to the beautiful forests we’re blessed with here in the states,” says Zac Kish, who founded Feller Shades this year with his brother Mac. “Our forests are threatened and need our help. So for every pair of sunglasses we sell, a tree will be planted in our national forests.”

The brothers say their passion for handcrafted goods and a love for the outdoors inspired them to start the company, which manufactures its sunglasses in a small facility in Zhejiang, China. They plan to eventually bring production to the United States.

Feller Shades launched a campaign this month on the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter with the goal of raising $19,000 to fund initial inventory production costs for its first line of sunglasses.

For more information, visit fellershades.com.