Cory

Cory, Havana

As a child I really wanted glasses. I tried reading in the dark, because my mom said it was bad for my eyes. Clearly, I was not a very smart kid.

So for fun I would try on my dad's glasses. And sometimes my Farmor's glasses. This was back in the eighties and they sported these big, kinda square frames. They hurt my eyes so I couldn't keep them on for very long, but I loved wearing them. They made me feel smart and grown up.

Cory, Black

The "Cory" frames draw their name from the character of Corrado Soprano. He sports some amazing retro-fabulous-grandpa-chic spectacles. I can totally dig it :)

Cory, Forest

Whilst I do love those grandpa frames I find that they can sometimes be a little sad looking. So I worked on cheering them up to make them slightly more current.

Cory, Berry

Back in 2011 while I was drawing them I really visualized them as unisex. No one believed it. Everyone said they were only for the ladies. When we got the samples a few months ago I was finally proven right. Lars loves them and wears them all the time. I was right. And most importantly Lars was proven wrong :) They look so great on both men and women. They are quite big frames so they work best on people with larger faces.

Lars wearing Cory in Black

The "Cory" is available in four colors:
- Black
- Havana
- Forest
- Berry

Lots of love, K

Holly

Holly, Black

These frames have a story, a long one, so brace yourself. Or don't bother reading and just enjoy the pretty pictures :)

I love makeup. I don't wear makeup every day, because I am lazy and I often work from home. But I never feel really fabulous without it. I know people who do. I envy them. I have tried to become one of them, thinking that confidence is all the makeup one really needs. Mirrors, shop windows and pictures have cruelly made me realize that it is just not possible for me.

Now, I am aware that I sound like I am being tough on myself to fish for compliments - and I do like me some compliments - but I have a point. Makeup makes me feel amazing. As some of you may know, I am the proud mommy of the world's greatest dog Sarah. I also live in a city, where there are people in the streets. I therefore have to present my face to the world pretty much every day. With or without makeup.

Sunglasses save the day :) The right ones make me feel pretty darn good about myself, actually they make me feel like a movie star.

The movie star look :)

Holly, Havana

The "Holly" frame is inspired by makeup and movie stars. By winged eyeliner and the beautiful Holly Golightly/Audrey Hepburn having breakfast while looking through the Tiffany's window (even though they don't look at all like the frames she wears in that scene). And then I mixed in a little hint of old Cadillac fins.

Sweet ride :)

I also did not own a pair of cat-eye sunglasses, and I felt that I was due for a pair. So here they are, the sunglasses that make me feel like a movie star.

Holly, Berry

The "Holly" is available in
- Black
- Havana
- Berry: a multilayered deep red

Lots of love, K

Holly, Black

Buddy

Buddy, Midnight

I wanted to create frames that would make a strong style statement. "Updated vintage" was what I was aiming for. I was thinking of the people who made eyewear look really cool. People you might not even recognize if they took off their glasses. I thought of how some strong frames can dress up a face for the stage.


Buddy Holly came to mind. His thick, vintage - well back then I guess they were new - frames. 

Looking awesome

I did not look at a single picture of Buddy Holly until the first drawings were nearly done, and when I finally did I realized that my frames really didn't look that similar to his... 

By then the name "Buddy" felt so right for the frames that I could not bring myself to change it. Also, Lars and I have been scuba diving a few times and we love it. The "Buddy" name also refers to the Buddy system in scuba diving where two divers pair up and watch out for each other. I think that is really nice, and it is kind of what the Karmoie concept is all about.

I still kept the style in line with my original drawings, although they have been through many rounds of adjustments to get a comfortable fit.

Buddy, Havana

In the beginning, when they were still on the drawing board, I considered these frames to be very masculine, because of the sharp, thick brow. In the end I am very pleased that they turned out to be quite unisex. I wear the Midnight color often, and whilst they do add some edge to an outfit, I don't feel that they make me look any less feminine. That's not to say that they are any less sharp on a man. My cousin Carl looks so good in them!

My cousin Carl wearing Buddy Black and looking like a rock star

Buddy, Moss

I had wanted a pair of navy sunglasses for a while, but never found the right pair. So I couldn't create my own collection of frames without indulging myself ;)

Me :) Wearing Buddy Midnight

Buddy Midnight

"Buddy" is available in four colors:
- Black
- Havana
- Midnight

- Moss

Lots of love, K

Buddy, Black

One

One, Black

"One" was the first frame I designed. Hence the name :)

I started drawing in October of 2010. At the time we had not told anyone about what we were doing (well, our office is on the same floor as my dad's office and we don't have a door, so he kinda figured we were up to something eyewear-related, but we had not officially told him). Everything was new, unfamiliar and intimidating.


Looking back I think we were quite brave, because we knew absolutely nothing about the eyewear industry. Perhaps we wouldn't have gotten into this if we did... We are still riding on a leap of faith so I guess we are just as crazy today.


The situation we were in, deciding to stop and start over, and building our own business from scratch must have manifested itself in what I was feeling creatively (blah! this sounds so self indulgent... and I suppose it was).  


I remember wanting to create a very basic, no-fuss frame. To me "One" is a sort of blank canvas, a new beginning. It holds a very special place in my heart :)

One, Beach

The first drawings probably don't look very much like the final product in terms of dimensions and angles but I would like to think that the feeling is the same.

One, Forest

As you can see there are very few bells and whistles on this frame. There's our logo on the inside and the two circles on the outside of the left temple and the wood-like finish on both temples. Keeping it clean.

One, Havana

"One" is a unisex frame, available in two sizes, Small and Large. 


"One Large" is available in four colors:

- Black

- Havana: a rich brown tortoise shell effect

- Beach: a light, high-contrast tortoise shell

- Forest: a soft multilayered brown

One, Acorn

"One Small" is available in four colors:

- Black

- Acorn: a rich brown tortoise shell effect, similar to Havana, but a little more reddish in color and the pattern is a bit more dense

- Beach: a light, high-contrast tortoise shell

- Forest: a soft multilayered brown


Well, there you have it. That's the story behind the first frames we created. I will probably be making a few posts like this one. One for every style.


Lots of love, K