Introducing Botanical Bifocals

Introducing BOTANICAL BIFOCALS, a line of contemporary-yet-ancient eyewear, hand-grown and crafted by @jfloium and I to facilitate more joy, connection and unique interactions.

Yes, you read that correctly. Hand-grown eyewear.

For years, humans have been putting manufactured things on their faces in an attempt to see better. We have plastic, metal, glass, titanium, carbon fiber and probably a few materials that were invented in a laboratory somewhere in Switzerland. But somewhere along the way, we started wondering whether there might be another way.

What if eyewear didn't just help you see more clearly, but actually helped you see the world differently?

That is where Botanical Bifocals came from.

These handmade, eco-conscious spectacles are our attempt to create something that is part eyewear, part art, part social experiment and part excuse to have interesting conversations with strangers. They are contemporary in their concept, ancient in their inspiration and completely unnecessary in the traditional sense, which is precisely what makes them so much fun.

The idea is pretty simple. We believe that changing your outlook can sometimes change your experience of the world around you. And when your experience changes, the people you notice, connect with and attract may change too.

So we decided to take that idea literally and put it on your face.

Through extensive scientific research conducted primarily in our own imaginations, we have developed what we believe may be a powerful new application of the laws of attraction and repulsion. The basic theory is that the right pair of Botanical Bifocals will help bring just the right people into your life while encouraging certain others to head off in the opposite direction.

You know the people I'm talking about. The ones who always have a criticism. The ones who seem to know exactly what you should be doing with your life. The ones who can turn an otherwise enjoyable conversation into an unsolicited seminar on everything you're doing wrong. The ones who somehow manage to make you wonder why you didn't just stay home with the dog.

Botanical Bifocals won't necessarily make those people disappear. We're not claiming to have developed that level of technology. What they may do, however, is help you see those people a little differently. And sometimes changing how you see something is considerably more powerful than changing the thing itself.

There is also something wonderfully human about making things by hand. Each pair is personalized, imperfect and unique. There isn't a giant factory somewhere producing ten thousand identical pairs while an algorithm determines what people between the ages of 45 and 54 are supposed to think looks cool.

Instead, there is a little imagination, some interesting materials, a willingness to experiment and two people asking, "What if we tried this?"

And perhaps that is what I like most about the whole idea. Botanical Bifocals are designed to start conversations. If you put on a pair and someone looks at you and says, "What the hell are those?" then we've already accomplished something.

You have met someone. And you have made them curious. You have created an opportunity for an interaction that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise.

And maybe they'll laugh. Maybe you'll laugh. Maybe you'll become friends. Maybe they'll think you're completely nuts and walk away. That's okay too. The laws of attraction and repulsion are working exactly as intended.

We are currently accepting pre-orders on a pay-what-you-can basis. If you would enjoy a custom and personalized pair of Botanical Bifocals, or know someone who might appreciate the opportunity to see the world through a slightly different lens, send me a DM.

We'll figure it out together. There will be no complicated online configurator, no 47-page questionnaire and no focus group sitting behind a one-way mirror debating whether you need more botanical or more bifocal. We'll probably just talk, get a sense of what makes you laugh and see what kind of ridiculousness emerges.

The goal is to create something that feels like you, or perhaps like a slightly more interesting version of you. Something you can put on and immediately feel a little different. Something that might make you smile before you've even left the house.

And then there is the helmet.

The custom non-fitting bike helmet featured in the original Botanical Bifocals experiment was generously donated by Tropic Aza and Adriana Gendrop. The helmet provides an important additional layer of protection from naysayers, energetic detractors and people who take handmade botanical eyewear far too seriously.

Because while the Botanical Bifocals may help you attract the right people and repel the wrong energy, it never hurts to have a little additional protection.

At the end of the day, this isn't really about glasses. It's about giving ourselves permission to be a little weird, make things with our hands, meet people we wouldn't otherwise meet and find more reasons to laugh.

There is already plenty of seriousness in the world.

I'd rather make something ridiculous that makes someone smile.

So, if you've ever wished you could see the world with a little more curiosity, connect with a few more interesting people and take yourself considerably less seriously, perhaps Botanical Bifocals are worth trying.

Put on a pair and see what happens.

You never know who—or what—you might attract.

Have a good day. Onward!

- Nicky Bobby & JFlo