Scott Urban, 24, fashions eyeglass frames out of wood and old records. They’re available through his Web site, urbanspectacles.com. Basic designs are $400; custom work starts at $500.
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Optical shops have always been really stuffy to me; I can’t stand the way there’s a salesman right in front of you while you’re trying things on. I used to wear my dad’s glasses but I kept cracking them. I was out at some bar–I pretend that I breakdance, it’s really obnoxious–and my glasses went flying off my face and cracked. Then I tried contacts, but they were horrible. And for me to go out and spend, what, 200 bucks on new frames wasn’t really an option. So I finally decided, all right, I’m gonna make them the way I want them to be.
Lignum vitae: it’s one of the densest on earth. Tulipwood’s a popular look, a really gorgeous kind of blond. People seem to be enjoying darker woods or ones with a reddish tint lately.
You offer your own styles, but you also do custom designs for clients. How does that work?
I like to look goofy, I guess. I like that old-man look.
