Arborglass Wins an Award

The sunglass manufacturer Arborglass recently received honorable mention in the eighth annual Veneer Tech Craftsman’s ChallengeTM, a woodworking design competition recognizing excellence in veneer applications.

Here's an explanation of Arborglass as found on its website:

Coby Unger, the owner and designer for Arborglass, has always appreciated wooden objects, but truly fell in love with the material while working for Studio Dunn, a small Rhode Island furniture design company. During his time at Studio Dunn he explored the potential of bent lamination as a construction method. Later while developing the first pairs of glasses frames, which would later become the prototypes for Arborglass he was immediately drawn to the same technique. Rather than carving the frames from a single block and therefore creating areas of short grain wood, bent lamination allows for the wood’s grain to remain unbroken while spanning the frames’ width.
After experimenting with wooden hinges and rigid metal hinges, stainless steel spring hinges were chosen to reduce stress on the frame and increase the life span of the glasses. Spring hinges also conform to the wearer’s head providing comfort and security.

In order to provide the best possible experience while wearing Arborglass sunglasses each pair is fitted with polarized lenses cut by another local artisan. Polarization provides a wearer with the sun protection needed for everyday outdoor activities by shielding dangerous ultra violet light.

Domestic hardwoods are used almost exclusively for Arborglass frames with the only exceptions being exotic scraps discarded by others. Coby believes strongly in the power of homegrown and domestically produced goods and strives to uphold these values through his work as a designer and a craftsman.