Check out the experiment below and visit our site HERE to see more:

Just as every inspirational experience is unique, so is every handmade piece of this collection.

Check out the photos below, watch the video and visit our site HERE to see more:

Check out the photos below, watch the video of the process, and visit our WEBSITE to see more.

To start the process, we selected material combinations from some of our most popular sunglasses options, and designed a few different shapes of decks. The plies were then cut to shape on the laser and arranged for pressing.

Each ply was coated with glue and arranged to be molded by the form above. Once arranged, the plies were placed against the form and inserted into this vacuum bag, which is operated by a small, quiet generator and vacuum pump.

After the plies are pressed and dried, the resulting planks are then cut to shape using a coping saw and ready for finishing.

After a good amount of sanding, once the edges were rounded and smooth, the deck was ready to have the holes drilled. Using the holes cut on the laser as guides, we created the hardware holes using this old-time styled hand-drill.

Once that was done a light coat of shellac was applied to protect and beautify the decks, and they are ready for assembly. See below for a few shots of the finished product!

Our founder, Eric Singer, will be hand-shaping another deck during the two days of Agenda Long Beach, and then we will be raffling one of the beauties off! If you are planning on attending stop by booth No. F35 to check out the process in person and enter for your chance to win!

Greg offers a compelling opinion on how the majority of the work most of us do these days is somewhat intangible, leaving us often without the physical proof of a product at the end of a long days’ work. He feels this desire for tangible creation is fueling the resurgence of our desire to make, create, and produce.

Excited for more episodes of this series!

It took us over a year of experimentation, research, and development to settle on this proprietary technique, shown in the video above.  Bad ideas, false starts, and near misses are all part of this process, but you eventually find that one thing that works. And that’s what this project represents: It’s the manifestation of an idea that was willed into existence. And it made for some pretty cool looking glasses too.

To make each pair of glasses, 1600 feet of newsprint is wound up into a 4-inch diameter “log” and these logs are then sawn into thin plies to reveal a unique, wood-like texture. The finished product is eyewear completely unique in appearance with dense lines, swirling grain, and just a hint of text.

See some detailed process images below and find out more about the collection here.

Newspaper plies freshly cut from the “log”.

Newspaper set in the self-aligning track.

A freshly rolled “log” drying.

Cutting the newsprint “log” in 1/8″ plies.

Frame fronts fresh from the CNC.

A pair of Canby Newspaper Selects being fitted with hinges.

The Shwood Eyewear Newspaper Collection comes in 3 iterations of our classic Canby shape.

The Canby Newspaper Select.

The Canby Newspaper & Walnut.

The Canby Acetate Newspaper.

The Canby Newspaper Select features temple inlays in addition to a full frame newspaper front.

Keep reading below to see how we select and process our acetate and to check out the finished product.

Above: A cotton plant from which acetate is made. 

Acetate is a time-tested material (developed in 1865!) that is used to this day in things like photographic film and eyewear. Cellulose acetate is a natural and renewable material, providing an eco-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics typically used in inexpensive eyewear. It is also possible to create richer and more unique colors with acetate than with traditional plastic.

Cellulose acetate is made by extracting cellulose fibers from cotton and wood pulp to create a transparent paste. This paste can then be colored, processed, and molded for a variety of industrial applications. For eyewear, it is cut from a large block into thin sheets, and then cut again into small rectangular “blanks”.

Above: Acetate eyewear blanks.

For an in-depth look at how Mazzucchelli crafts their acetate, watch a great video on the process HERE.

Mazzucchelli offers a nearly infinite variety of colors and transparencies of cellulose acetate. To find the perfect pattern and color, our in-house research and development team first creates digital acetate color renderings to narrow down the millions of Mazzucchelli options. They then select samples and carefully choose what will work best in a given frame shape. Sometimes, custom combinations are requested and developed for a one-of-a-kind look. Our research team then hand-polishes the acetate to gain a better understanding of how it will look as a finished pair of frames.

Above: Our “Pearl Grey” acetate in various stages of polishing.

Once a colorway and frame shape has been selected, the process is actually very similar to how we craft our wooden eyewear. Each piece is hand routed into a rough shape, with the other auxiliary frame details added and shaped next. Further hand tooling refines the shape until it is ready to be heat molded to proper curvature, based on approved drawings. The raw frames are then submitted to a multi-stage tumble polishing process over a series of days. Lastly, we hand-select real wood inlays to find the perfect combination of  materials. These inlays are fitted by hand and the frames are sent to be fitted with lenses. This whole process is labor-intensive and requires a high-level of expertise to execute consistently.

Above: Each frame is  fitted with hand-picked wooden inlays, guaranteeing that each pair is unique.

The final product is a beautiful and unique pair of frames with a natural and solid feel, simultaneously lightweight, sturdy, and comfortable. We recently introduced our Prescott shape in acetate, and have added new colorways to all of the existing silhouettes in our Acetate Collection in both Sun & Rx. To see them all visit our website!

Above: Prescott Acetate in Pearl Grey

Above: Govy 2 Acetate in Whiskey Soda.

Above: Canby Acetate in Sweet Tea.

Read below for an inside look at the process behind this truly Oregon grown collaboration.

See the finished product and watch the video HERE.

Shwood x Widmer Brothers – An Oregon Grown Collaboration from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

The main idea behind this collaboration was to create a product that both beer and style lovers alike could cherish. We wanted to develop a beer that was a tribute to the spirit of the Northwest, and allow Widmer Brothers Brewing to be an integral part of the final look of the sunglasses. Thus the process rotates back and forth from the brewery to our workshop, just a few miles apart on the east side of Portland, Oregon.

The story begins in our Portland workshop, with raw oak being resawn using a traditional skipsaw technique – in which teeth are removed from the sawblade to intentionally create a highly textured and grooved surface texture.

At the same time, Widmer was busy brewing the special batch of Upheaval IPA, which would be aged on oak in the later stages of the brewing process.

After the beer finished the malting and hopping processes it was aged on Oak spirals cut specifically for this project by Shwood in our Portland workshop.

Early in the aging process, we set aside some beer to use for the staining of the shades. A custom stain utilizing Upheaval IPA was used alongside malts & hops supplied by Widmer. The ingredients were ground-up and applied to the sunglasses for a truly one-of-a-kind look.

The finished package is something to truly be savored. We carefully considered every aspect to make the Shwood x Widmer package something special. The screen-printed label, the branded bottle opener, and even the beer itself are developed completely custom for this project. Each element is thoughtfully arranged in an engraved crate for a beautiful unboxing experience.

Our founder and designer, Eric Singer, teamed up with Joe Blecha (who formerly has shaped boards for Burton) to lead a few friends in making snowboards 2 winters ago and learned a lot about the process. This past winter, with an even larger crew, they put the knowledge gained from the first experiment to the test.

The first stage of the process involved everyone sitting down together to design their custom topsheet. We worked in Adobe Illustrator to set up the file for the laser engraver. At this point we also placed the order for materials, enough to make six boards total.

Once the raw lumber arrived, we set to work on the table saw cutting down the bamboo and poplar into strips that would later but joined together to create the cores of the boards. The slats were then milled down to a consistent and specific thickness. Bamboo was placed at the center and edges of the core due to its water resistance, rigidity, and flex. Poplar placed in between the bamboo reduced the weight while maintaining strength and pop.

Wax paper was used to prevent the glue from sticking to the clamp and press system. We stepped up our game this time around on the pressing portion of the process after having less than stellar results previously when driving a car on top of the press to provide the necessary pressure.

Once the cores were glued together, they were sanded down and fitted with hardware. The topsheet designs were applied and covered in fiberglass and resin to seal everything together. At this point they were vacuum-sealed and pressed.

Once pressed the boards were cut to their final shape, they were sanded to a clean edge and coated in walnut oil to bring out the natural wood color. Four coats of marine boat deck finish were applied to the top and sidewalls to provide a clean, waterproof seal.

Finally, after a long and intricate process, we were ready to hit the hill. The crew made their way up to Mt. Hood Meadows for a little late season shred.