5 MINS WITH…
Eye wear creator Jason Kirk of Kirk Originals
Being an opticians son (and grandson) doesn’t necessarily make a career. But turning that family tradition on it’s head (and stylishly so!), is where Brit Jason Kirk eventually landed. Now living in Bordeaux, France with his wife and two teeange sons (his 16-year-old fronts a French rock band!), the charming and down-to-earth man behind Kirk Originals, known for their bright, and sometimes sparkly, acetate and acrylic frames, was in Toronto last week at Karir Eyewear in First Canadian Place to chat about design (a graphic designer, his wife is a major part of the business), social media (he handles the Twitter account himself) and the return of eyeglasses.
FrontRowmag.com: How important is social media to your business?
Jason Kirk: Everything today is about communication. As simple as that. You can have a great product, but if you don’t engage on a different level with your audience, there’s no point. Take our Kirk Heros line, each frame has a name and has their own account on Facebook. You can be friends with your frames! And we have about 7,000 friends between the characters.
FRM: Did you study design?
JK: No, I studied French! [laughs] My wife is a graphic desinger. But I grew up in optics. By the age of four I would spend time with his dad at his pratice, which was a very conservative practice. But then I found my grandfather’s stash of glasses, which were ’50 and ’60s style frames.
FRM: How do you feel when you see someone wearing your glasses?
JK: It’s brilliant to see someone wearing our frames. We sell in over 45 countries. I will go up to people to talk to them about their glasses. Sometimes I have to pull our my business card for them to believe that I’m Jason Kirk, but they’re always very interested in talking to me about their glasses. People love our glasses because they’re about self expression. It’s about how you feel, not just how look.
FRM: Why do you think there has been a renaissance of sorts in terms of eyewear?
JK: When Luxotica bought RayBan years ago, they marketed glasses and made them cool again. People now are so bored with grey and dull and the same shape, when it comes to frames. We’re all about colour, and passion, and people really like that. And in terms of shopping, you put effort into clothes shopping, you know you’re shoe size, etc, but why not spend more time researching and purchasing glasses.
