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CHICAGO—When it comes to companies who embody the Made in America spirit, STATE Optical Co. is top of mind. STATE is a collaboration among husband and wife team, Scott and Amanda Shapiro, eyewear executive Jerry Wolowicz, entrepreneurial cousins Marc Franchi and Jason Stanley, and award-winning designer Blake Kuwahara.

The company’s luxury eyewear collection is one of a few eyewear brands designed and manufactured exclusively in North America, with an office and factory headquartered just outside of Chicago.

“The brand is all about storytelling, as it offers us the chance to communicate intimately about craftsmanship that takes place right here in our hometown,” said Scott Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of STATE Optical Co. “It’s a unique story that few others can tell. The story started with Marc Franchi and Jason Stanley, two first cousins who set out to do what many told them was impossible—craft high-quality luxury eyewear in the U.S. To do so, they had to travel the world and literally teach themselves the entire manufacturing process.”

According to Shapiro, Marc and Jason doubled-down on their commitment to this dream when the two lifetime Californians agreed to uproot their lives and move their families to Chicago so they could partner with the team at Europa eyewear. In 2014, the newly formed team began to build its first-of-its kind factory from the ground up.

More than anything, STATE is about craftsmanship. Shapiro said, “Never before in the optical industry has there been a better opportunity for a company to communicate to patients and customers the craft and detail that goes into the eyeglasses they wear. STATE is an attempt to bridge the very large gap that has for years separated eyewear craftsmen and eyewear consumers by communicating very personal and intimate stories about how the frames are made, where they’re made, and by whom they’re made.”

Like many companies, STATE offers point-of-purchase materials that include logo blocks, hanging banners, photos of their craftsmen, and a video highlighting the manufacturing process. The company also has a “storytelling” display that shows a brief glimpse into the three stages of the frames’ production.

There are also great storytelling moments within the design of the frames, Shapiro noted. The STATE logo contains a pyramid of 21 dots because Illinois is the 21st state in The Union and the frames are produced in Illinois. Those 21 dots are also intricately drilled into each temple tip. The custom hinge is designed as a pyramid to match the logo and temple tip, and each style is named after a street in Chicago.

Shapiro travels the country personally to meet with the staffs of STATE locations in order to train them on the details that make the product, and the story behind it so unique.

“More importantly, we offer a story-telling opportunity that very few companies have offered in decades—tours of our domestic manufacturing facility. Everyone is invited to come visit our factory and see the 75 steps that go into crafting each frame, particularly eyecare professionals.

“Too many of them have devoted their careers to working with eyewear and becoming experts in the field, and yet so few of them have ever seen a pair of eyeglass frames being made. That’s a real problem in our industry,” he said.

Consumers are also invited to tour the facility. When a patient buys a pair of STATE frames, on the inside of the case it says, “Come see how your frames are made.” Customers can go to STATEOpicalCo.com and make an appointment to tour the factory.

“We’ve found that this story resonates with consumers from every demographic. Even more than in the past, I think consumers of all ages really care about the way their products are made, and the story that goes along with them.

“They expect a deeper connection with the brands and products they invest in. Particularly in the eyewear space, consumers are thirsty for an authentic brand, and what’s more authentic than crafting the frames with our own hands, in our own backyard,” Shapiro concluded.