Secret Academy Episode - Aristotle LoumisAbout:
Aristotle Loumis was on a completely different track before he founded Ellison Eyewear, he was actually going to school to be a dentist. But after a massive cultural and impact shock going to Greece for the first time, an observation was made by Aristotle, everyone around him was wearing sunglasses, and not just for the looks but for the functionality. Aristotle returned home to the U.S and decided to launch Ellison Eyewear, the first sunglass line to ever be hand-made in Greece, combining American Ingenuity with Mediterranean Style. The road to any design production is one of constant trial and error, along with sacrifices and successes, Aristotle has seen them all and is here to share his story with you.
Lesson's in Today's Interview:
- When designing a product authenticity is key.
- Design is great when you can both work with people and work with your hands.
- Vision is key to success.
- Combining functionality and fashion helps fill both a need and a want.
- Don’t sacrifice the quality of your product for a cheap manufacturing cost.
- Once you decide what kind of company you want to be, you can retrofit your manufacturing capability.
- Realizing that sometimes things happen to your product and having an insurance for those mistakes is what sets you apart from competitors.
- Never forget that competition is out there.
- In the sunglass industry, there is actually a large un-talked about monopoly.
- Boutique shops are where independent brands have to go to sell their products in a store-front.
- The internet is truly the great equalizer for fashion and design brands.
- Being in the “try it on before you buy it” fashion realms can hurt your internet sales more than you think.
- You have to find a balance of offline and online distribution for a product this day in age.
- Creativity is key when looking for distribution methods offline.
Full Episode, Downloadable Podcast, and Other Episode Resources Available for Members Only:
