State Optical Co. is a luxury American eyewear brand that is currently being manufactured in Chicago. State Optical Co. is the collaboration between husband and wife team, Scott and Amanda Shapiro, eyewear executive Jerry Wolowicz, entrepreneurial cousins Marc Franchi and Jason Stanley, and award-winning eyewear designer Blake Kuwahara. The brand prides itself on pure quality and authenticity of its eyewear designs. Each frame’s temple tip echoes the company’s logo, a pyramid comprised of 21 individual “dots” (representing America’s 21st state, Illinois) skillfully cut then filled by hand with clear epoxy and polished. The acetate palette is sophisticated and nuanced with colors and structures were chosen specifically to enhance the frames’ silhouettes and flatter the face.
