Start-up exports wooden frames across the world

(21 May 2016) LEAD IN:
A Tunisian start-up that's the first in the country to produce wooden glasses is now exporting its frames around the world.
The company is capitalising on the growing trend for wooden frames, and could be a rare success story in a country plagued by unemployment, inflation and a deteriorating economy.

STORY-LINE:
Sunglasses made of wood are a fashion trend that has appeared in recent years.
These are 100 per cent Tunisian made.
There is only one company in the country that makes and sells glasses frames, Vakay, and they're all in wood.
In a small workshop of Sfax, 266 kilometres south of the Tunisian capital, lies the successful start-up.
Two years after its launch in 2014, Vakay now has 11 employees and plans to double its workforce by the end of the year.
It also exports to France, Canada, Morocco, Austria, and Bulgaria, and is due to add five new countries to this list in the coming year.
This success story is the result of the inspiration and motivation of Adam Jabeur, a 27-year-old chartered accountant, who, with his friend Soulaimen Ghorbel, an industrial designer, thought it would be fun to make glasses in wood.
From a plywood prototype to luxurious African wood species, the glasses have been a success from the beginning. Each new sale allowed the team to buy more raw material and new tools to perfect their production.
The interest and excitement of local opticians is what pushed the team to put all their efforts in the Vakay adventure. The name means "And the tree" in Vietnamese (và cây) and was decided to clearly state the trademark of the brand, which only sells wood glasses.
"As our first entrance on the market, to make the buzz and to show our presence, the choice of wood, because of its originality, was a strategic choice, aside from the aesthetic aspect," explains Adam Jabeur, the CEO, whose background in accounting also helps for sales, management and strategy.
Vakay uses five kinds of wood for its glasses: Beech for the structure inside, because it's easy to shape and solid. This is used for all the frames. Then there are four options for the exterior layers: Wenge, Padauk, Bubinga, and Walnut.
These four are natural species mainly from west tropical and equatorial African countries, including Cameroon, South Africa and Ghana.
The team considers these to be the best options that combine a nice aesthetical aspect, fitting the current fashion trends, as well as being soft enough to work with.
The wood is imported through a supplier, costing between 7,000 (around 3,500 USD) and 10,000 (around 5,000 USD) Tunisian Dinars per cubic metre.
Each plate of wood is sanded. A laser machine then cuts the general shape of the frame into a universal form that works for any of the Vakay models.
Workers then glue together the different plates of wood – three Beech layers inside, and two African wood ones outside – and put them in a mould to give the necessary curve to the glasses.
Then starts the phase that is specific to each pair: the final shape of the model as well as the details, which Vakay is currently trying to develop.
"Regarding the design, we're now trying to focus more on the details. This means that we'll use our origins, the style, the texture, the material, to develop them on the glasses," explains Soulaimen Ghorbel, Vakay's Designer, who used to design pleasure boats before starting Vakay with Adam.
Traditional fabric, Berber symbols and jewellery will soon be available on Vakay models, to link Tunisia's origins to the latest fashion trends.
The glasses are also available in different parts of Tunisia.
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