FFIN EYEWEAR > 2 Design Awards at 100% Optical
Ffin Eyewear wins 2 Design Awards
Ffin has won 2 out of 3 shortlisted ‘Love Eyewear’ awards at this year’s 100% Optical in London. Winning best men’s sunglasses of the year, and New designer of the year 2023.
Ffin was also shortlisted in categories for best women’s Sunglasses with established brands such as Woodys, Scotch and Soda and Vava. It was in the best men’s sunglasses of the year category where Ffin scooped the award ahead of major brands like Eyewear by David Beckham, Morel and JFrey. “The love eyewear awards launched in 2020 to champion and promote eyewear amongst independent and major designers, manufacturers and retailers. The response was phenomenal and our panel of eyewear bloggers and stylists had an extremely difficult job judging the entries. Ffin has been introduced to the optical industry as a powerhouse at this years 100 optical show, winning not one but two love eyewear awards. Anna has successfully established her career and brand. We cannot wait to see the future of Ffin “ (100% Optical.)
Ffin is a new Independent Eyewear brand designed on the coast in Wales and made in the depths of Italy and launched this year with a limited-edition range of unique sunglasses. Its founder Anna Lewis has a broad career working in jewellery design, contemporary craft and art direction. Ffin is the start of new adventures for the designer.
Ffin is a Welsh word that translates into border, boundary or frontier. The brand ethos is all about these defining lines, at the very edge of things. The lines we cross be they real or imaginary, tangible or invisible. There is always a hint of rebellion here, for wearers with a little bit of an edge. They are created for the adventurous spirits, the outsiders, the creative souls that are walking their own path in the world. For people that skirt the rules of the status quo, eyewear for the individual, classic with a wink.
Anna has a successful established career as a jewellery designer maker and artist. She draws on these making skills and her considered attention to detail for her unique approach to eyewear. “It feels like a natural progression for me to design eyewear, I am an avid fan and collector of sunglasses, I started to design my own and it expanded rapidly from there. I love the way it feels when you put on a pair of great sunglasses, it is literally like wearing confidence, then you can take a step out into the world. I want to give that individual confidence to my clients”.
The designs stem from the obsession over line. Where lines fold, intersect, curve and dissect. Lines discovered in the urban landscape, on the street, inside, outside, gritty brutalist architecture in London, the borders marked on the road, how the city tries to control where we navigate it. How the body interacts with the space in which it occupies. How we wear space and how it wears us. It’s how we “wear the world.”
The first limited edition collection consists of 3 core designs called ORA, ANA, and NOS; defining the brand ethos of line and point of difference. The Shades are unisex using the best bio based Italian acetate and bio lenses enveloped in a handmade leather case.
All manufacturing and materials including the packaging are sourced in the UK and Europe working with master craftspeople and collaborating with other local creatives using eco materials throughout. “We only work with companies we believe to hold good ethical working practices for both their staff and the environment. We work with people who care about their product and are highly skilled artisans.” Designed to last and transcend seasons, Ffin frames should be worn and loved throughout the year, as a celebration of both sunshine and shade across the seasons.
This much anticipated brand has been over 2 years in the making starting in lockdown and can now at last be seen. Revealed in real life at 100% Optical (Europe’s fastest growing optical Event and the only one based in the UK) Ffin immediately made an impact at the exhibition, on the catwalk and winning the 2 awards. “We had an incredible first show, thank you to all who supported us at 100% after so much hard work it really makes it worthwhile when that is recognized. Not only the awards but meeting with amazing fellow designers, opticians, stylists and writers such as The Eyewear Forum, their support and warm welcome means so much to a new brand. We are excited to see where we can take Ffin next!” (Anna Lewis, founder Ffin.)
View the full collection here to be the very first to own a pair of these award-winning unique frames:
