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embankmentYou are a sunglass brand specializing in glass lenses. Originally, the family business was a glass manufacturer, and we launched this brand to propose the appeal of glass lenses using that technology.

embankmentWe have been in business for 75 years, and in the beginning, we specialized in the production of glass lenses for eyeglasses under the company name "Osaka Megane Glass". However, with the emergence of plastic as a new material to replace glass, our share of the glass lens market gradually declined. Since then, we have not specialized in lenses, but have been producing filters for cameras and medical equipment. This is how we expanded our business into the so-called "specialty glass" field.

bamboo groveOriginally, there were many lens manufacturers in Osaka, right?

embankmentThe Ikuno area of Osaka is the birthplace of eyeglass lenses in Japan. At that time, there were hundreds of factories in the area, but today we are the only company that produces glass for lenses.

embankmentThe most attractive feature is the clear vision. The clarity is clearly different from that of plastic lenses. The reason why glass is still used for camera lenses is because of the overwhelming difference.

Glass lenses are also superior in terms of "longevity. Plastic lenses deteriorate over time due to UV rays, but glass lenses are different. Even if you use them for many years, your vision will not become cloudy. Vintage sunglasses are valuable because of the glass lenses.

embankmentAnd what's more, the texture is unique to glass. This is what I want to convey most.

embankmentFor example, Baccarat glasses have a unique weight and glow. I think that is the charm of glass. I like the beauty of the glass as an object, or its appearance. Shin Glass has a concept of "Are those sunglasses beautiful? We are making products while valuing the texture and functional beauty of glass lenses.

bamboo groveAs plastic processing technology improved, it became closer and closer to glass. Naturally, plastic is more efficient in production, and this is why glass has been going into decline. However, it is only "getting closer" to glass, but it still does not have the advantages of glass.

embankmentRegardless of the lens, the material plastic itself was developed as a substitute for glass. In terms of ease of handling, plastic may be superior, but I believe there are still differences.

bamboo groveMr. Tsutsumi is the only company that makes glass itself from raw materials, isn't he?

embankmentThat's right. We are the only company that makes lenses from powder materials. The reason for the clear vision of glass lenses is the structure of the material.

embankmentColored lenses are colored by adding a coloring agent at the stage of melting the material. It may be easier to understand if we say that the material itself has color.

embankmentIn the case of plastic, the base transparent lens is colored by dyeing. Therefore, the vision is like looking through a single filter.

bamboo groveOf course, plastic has its charms, but in terms of visibility, glass lenses are better.

embankmentThe reason why glass has a clear view is because of its structure. Plastic has the advantage of being easy to manufacture and suitable for processing, but glass, on the other hand, requires a high-temperature furnace and is difficult to manufacture. On the other hand, glass is difficult to manufacture because it requires a high-temperature furnace, etc. But because it is difficult to manufacture, the finished product is of high quality. The products made through hard work last a long time and have their own special charm.

bamboo groveAlso, colored lenses have a solid purpose, don't they? It's more like a color effect.

embankmentTo begin with, when BAUSCH&LOMB developed green and yellow lenses, they did not do so by external design. The yellow lenses, for example, were developed to suppress blue light, which is the source of flicker, and to increase the contrast of the hunter's field of vision. With these objectives in mind, colored lenses were created to fulfill them.

bamboo groveOverseas, Persol and Ray-Ban use glass lenses, but they don't make many sunglasses with vivid and beautiful colors like Singlass does. Most of them are in subdued colors such as gray, brown, and dark green.

embankmentGlass manufacturers are like an equipment industry. In other words, basically, only major companies can produce glass. They only want to make the best-selling colors. We are probably the smallest optical glass manufacturer in the world (laughs), which allows us to be flexible and produce small-lot production of colors that may not be in demand. That is our biggest selling point.

bamboo groveDomestic sunglasses brands are very rare. In other words, I am talking about brands that focus on the essence of sunglasses, which is "blocking out light. In Japan, people tend to focus on the design of the frame rather than the lenses, and the focus on the lenses is secondary. I thought this difference in approach was interesting.

embankmentThat is the approach I wanted to take in manufacturing. As Mr. Araoka said, eyewear brands in Japan today seem to be placing more importance on design, but on the other hand, I also sense a trend toward going back to the basics and focusing on the essentials.

bamboo groveI get the sense that customers are becoming more genuine when I am in the store. When I recommend Shin Glass, many customers buy it because they like it so much.

bamboo groveWe recommend sunglasses to a wide range of customers, from those who are buying sunglasses for the first time to those who have a variety of sunglasses and want to buy new ones. What we can say in common is that everyone is really attracted by the quality of the lenses.

embankmentI am glad to hear that. I am very excited to hear such stories because I want people to look at the essence of our products, not our brand name.

embankmentYes, that's right. We asked a designer named Ikuya Enomoto. When we decided to make sunglasses in the first place, we are glass manufacturers, so we are complete amateurs. Therefore, we thought it would be better to ask a professional to do the design. When I was doing some research to find the right person, I came across an interview with Mr. Enomoto. In the interview, he said something along the lines of "I like the essence of things," and I thought he would be a good match for our values.

bamboo groveIn my opinion, Enomoto-san is the best eyewear designer in Japan. He has worked on various brands and has probably designed 3,000 models so far. He is a designer without a doubt.

embankmentWhen we actually met and talked, I felt a kind of response that we could share our feelings.

embankmentWe told them that we wanted a design that would make the glass stand out. We also expressed our desire for something simple and timeless. This may have been a difficult request for the designer, but since our values were close, we thought he would be able to understand what we wanted.

bamboo groveMr. Enomoto is not the type of designer who puts forth his own personality. If anything, he is the type of person who listens to what others have to say and expresses it well, so I think it was a good decision to ask Mr. Enomoto to do this.

bamboo groveI wanted to make sunglasses with them using glass lenses. Then, when I looked at various colored glasses, I thought this pink lens was very beautiful.

bamboo groveWhen I asked him about it, he told me that it was his grandfather who made these lenses. I also inherited the eyeglass shop from my grandfather's generation, so I felt a connection there. When I asked him about the lens in more detail, he told me that the development of this lens started in the 1970s and took many years to complete. I was also attracted by this story and decided to use these lenses.

embankmentIt is interesting that you dare to use this color now.

embankmentBy suppressing the blue light that causes flickering and allowing the red color to pass through, the lens provides clear vision with contrast. Also, the pink color of the lenses makes vision more gentle.

bamboo groveThe rest is, after all, romantic.

embankmentYes, it is. Colors similar to this are also used as filters on cameras. It's called a skylight filter, and it makes people's skin look more blood-colored. It has the effect of improving the complexion, or rather, making it look gentler. So when you look at people with this on, they look more attractive.

bamboo groveThis color lens was originally used in sunglasses for skiing. Nowadays, we have goggles and such, but in the 70s and 80s, everyone wore sunglasses on the slopes.

bamboo groveThis item will be released on Valentine's Day, so I thought it would be romantic in that sense as well. I want couples to wear these on their dates on the slopes (laughs).

embankmentYou mentioned earlier that there are not many sunglass brands in Japan, and I would like to become a sunglass brand representing Japan.

bamboo groveI think this is a brand that will do just that. I don't think you can get a real sense of it just by hearing about it like this, so I would like you to try it out in a store. If you do, I am sure you will be convinced. I hope it will spread slowly and steadily.

embankmentWe recognize that we are not a brand that will attract attention all at once. If people actually see and touch our products and confirm the quality of our products, we hope that our brand will naturally spread. That is our ideal.

bamboo groveNow we need to preserve glass lenses for future generations. To do so, we have no choice but to continue to make them. In Japan, only Mr. Tsutsumi can make them.

embankmentI don't think plastic is a bad thing, and I think that if we do a better job of understanding the merits of each, the culture of eyewear will become more profound. There is a lot of mass-produced eyewear being made, and if we can provide topics related to the contents of eyewear, not just the frames, we can look at eyewear from many different angles. I would be happy if such thoughts could be conveyed.