The ALIA
Volume I. Issue XIX. Dec. 23, 2020.
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the nineteenth issue of The ALIA, a weekly newsletter dedicated to the lives of Asian women in America, and beyond, where we bring you the latest news and insightful conversations with industry professionals. In this volume, we feature women in fashion, media and arts. Find us on Instagram. Subscribe for free here.
Letter from the editor:
Hello! It’s so good to see you again, and a warm welcome to our new subscribers. Christmas is upon us and the holiday spirit is in the air! It is one of my favorite holidays because of the lights, decorations, gifting and spending time with family and friends. While many of us are apart from our families this year, keeping connected is needed more than ever.
As you’re doing your holiday shopping, try to shop at local, small and sustainable businesses. Although massive Boxing Day sales will be tempting, the insurmountable carbon footprint left from excessive fast fashion will leave a lasting impact on the environment.
I came across a game-changing eyewear brand, Covry, which designs frames that fit your face. I’m sure many of you have experienced glasses sliding off your nose or clenching your face from the narrow fit. Covry changes that with their Elevated Fit. I was excited to chat with co-founders Florence Shin and Athina Wang about the idea that launched this brand.
Merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy!
Sincerely,
Annie Lin
Founder of The ALIA
If you could like to learn more about this project, please contact us at contact@alia.news
Asian Creatives
Clockwise from top left: @keemluv, @aboutmood, @sora_pppp, @una_daily
Community News
Mental health • The pandemic has exacerbated the need for mental health support. However, Asian Americans are the racial group least likely to reach out for help, according to NBC. Experts say the model minority myth creates pressures and expectations that prevent people from reaching out. (National suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-8255) Read: NBC News
Inclusivity • These five transgender models are breaking barriers in Asia as advocates and activists for transgender rights. SCMP said the increase in transgender and non-binary models on the runway a sign of the Asian fashion industry becoming more inclusive. Read: SCMP Style
‘Tis the season • Last-minute Christmas gift shopping? From Nguyen Coffee Supply’s beans grown in Vietnam, Wing On Wo & Co.’s porcelain pieces from the oldest store in New York’s Chinatown to Yakult shirts from Trust Studio’s streetwear collection, Buzzfeed’s listicle of small Asian-owned businesses has all the right ideas to shop small. Read: Buzzfeed
New year, new outfits • We’ll take every excuse to dress up, and there’s no better time than the holidays. If you’re looking for a new fit to usher in the new year, Who What Wear spotlights 10 South Asian fashion brands that should be on your radar. Read: Who What Wear
In Conversation with
Florence Shin & Athina Wang
This week, we’re joined by Florence Shin, 30, and Athina Wang, 30, co-founders of Covry, an inclusive eyewear brand creating frames that fit your face. The duo recognized the need for better fitting eyewear after experiencing struggles to find comfortable glasses. Five years and a Kickstarter later, they have over 20 glasses and sunglasses styles, with blue light protection and prescription. Shop their holiday sale now with 35% off selected styles.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Tell us about yourselves and your backgrounds
Florence: We’re both from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I went to fashion school at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, where I studied international trade and marketing. My first job was at a PR firm for fashion brands. Growing up, I always felt like I had two identities. At home, I had my Korean side. I spoke Korean with my parents and ate Korean food. At school, it was completely American. I wanted to fit in with the other kids. I wanted pasta for dinner, not the Korean soups my mom would make. But now, Korean food is all I want to eat. I always felt stuck between these two identities. It wasn’t until college when I gravitated more toward my Korean side. I’m at a point where I have become appreciative of having two cultures. I visited Korea more as I got older. Seeing it with a pair of more mature eyes and getting to know my relatives on a closer level has helped bridge the gap.
Athina: We went to high school together, then I went to fashion school at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in California, where I studied fashion design and business management. Then I worked in production for companies that would produce clothes for Rag & Bone and Theory. It helped me understand the process from sketches to fittings and samples. Now, I work on the design and production side of Covry.
Similar to Florence, I grew up in New Jersey, but I split my time between here and Shanghai. I have a lot of family in China, and every summer, I would go back to visit. I also went to middle school there. My mom would move around a lot, so I had to change schools every time. Looking back now, I’m grateful for all the experiences, opportunities and people I’ve met through moving around. It has helped me be more open to new things. I feel lucky to have both sides.
Where did the idea for Covry stem from?
Florence: Both of us have been wearing glasses since elementary school but struggled with ill-fitting eyewear for so long that we kind of accepted that all glasses slide down your nose and leave indents on your cheek. It was right around when we were working our first jobs that Athina had come back from a trip to Shanghai and found glasses that fit really well. She told me this story, and I was like, wait, I have the same issue! It was crazy because neither of us had brought this up before, and when we were talking about it, both of us had this lightbulb moment. We wanted to test the market to see if this was something people were interested in beyond ourselves, so we launched a Kickstarter.
Athina: The Kickstarter went really well, we tripled our goal, and from there, we realized this product is something people need, especially in America. Production costs were pretty expensive. Luckily, I was able to find manufacturers over in China, and it seemed the most reasonable place to start. From there, we launched our online store, and it’s been five years since.
When I was shopping with my grandma in China, I tried on a few pairs of glasses, and it felt different, it felt better. We honed in on areas of the frame that are problem areas we run into. We realize that our facial structures are different; our cheekbones are higher, my head is generally wider. We had to figure out little details like how it slides down. It’s not that everything fits well in Asia either. We wanted to make sure that Covry would fix so customers would only need to decide the style, shape and color they like.
Florence: We have been working full time on Covry since the official launch. Thankfully, both of our families have been extremely supportive. We’re incredibly grateful because they were supportive of us going to fashion school too. I think starting a business can be scary, but we were in our early 20s, and the fact that we’re friends made it even more exciting. We have expanded our products from three to 20 different sunglasses and glasses in the last five years, with home try-on and prescription options. It’s been great to see the growth of the company.
Athina: Neither of us had any experience in the eyewear industry so we had to learn it from scratch. Going to optical fairs helped us meet the manufacturers, suppliers and learn about everything very fast. It took about one year from when we had the idea to launch the brand. It felt like we took tiny baby steps. Fit is our number one priority, and sampling took time. We tried it on countless times. We had friends and family try it on to make sure it fits well. It was slow because we were still working full time. But we motivated each other to keep going.
What is it like being business partners with your friend?
Athina: The key was that we were at the same place in our lives at the same time. We were both in our early 20s, we hated the jobs we had. It motivated us to start Covry. We didn’t have many responsibilities or families to take care of, so we just went all in. Now that we’re older, it would be harder to start something with a friend if you’re at different stages of your life.
Florence: We had different backgrounds, and we each brought something to the table. Athina is in charge of production and design, while I took care of PR and marketing. Personally, the most important thing I would look for in a business partner is somebody you can trust. We already had a great relationship of being friends first before business partners which has always been special for me.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business?
Athina: Before COVID, we would see each other a couple of times a week. Now we switch days. We’re always making sure we’re being safe and following CDC guidelines of sanitizing. Luckily, we’ve always been online and we didn’t have stores we relied on for sales. We’ve had the logistics of shipping figured out since we started, so having more people ordering online was good for us.
Florence: One of our strengths is adaptability, especially because we’re so small. Like Athina said, it wasn’t a big change for us in terms of the business.
Athina: I do want to add that our manufacturers shut down when COVID hit China. Many of our items were delayed. Once they reopened, America began shutting down. Our customers were very understanding about delayed shipping times. We’re lucky that our customers have been supportive of us throughout this whole thing.
Florence: Something I miss is the pop-ups we used to do. It’s a great opportunity to meet customers in real life and witness them trying on the frames for the first time, which is always really cool. They’ll try them on and be like, Oh my goodness, they fit so well! I’m definitely looking forward to having those events again.
How do you want to be more inclusive?
Florence: From the start, we knew it wasn’t a product we were making just for Asians. The Elevated Fit is a more comfortable fit for everybody. We know that one frame is not a one size fits all. We want to expand our product offering to offer more sizes for different face shapes and sizes.
Athina: As Florence said, we’ve always been focused on celebrating diversity. It’s been our motto when it comes to designing frames and colors. Besides the fit, we would try to expand on sizes.
What advice do you have for other Asian women who want to start a business?
Athina: If you have an idea, just go for it. If you’re an entrepreneur, you always have ideas. The thing that really helped us is that we took action, instead of talking or thinking about it. It seems overwhelming thinking about where to begin. It helps to have a partner and starting small. We did one thing a day. One day we figured out how to register a business, then next, we figured out how to get a logo. We took small steps and it snowballed. Before you know it, you’ll have created your company. No matter what it is, just start doing it.
Florence: Don’t let your lack of experience prevent you from starting a business. We were first-time entrepreneurs. Every entrepreneur is a first-time entrepreneur at some point. Having no experience in the eyewear industry allowed us to see things from a fresh perspective. It helped us innovate on the idea of a different fit. Like Athina said, just go for it otherwise, it will remain as an idea. A few years later, you might see a business that had the same idea.
Photographs courtesy of Covry.
Asian-owned Brands
Weekly Thoughts
Last week: What are you looking forward to next year?
Your responses:
“The warm weather and hopefully getting to be more creative” – Janice Guo, Sunnyvale, California
This week: What is a kind gesture someone has shown toward you?
#ALIAtalks to join the conversation and we will feature the best submissions in next week’s newsletter. For email submissions, please email contact@alia.news
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