Nerdy Frames · New York City · Cleveland
My name is Geraldo Delgado. I’m an eyewear designer and licensed optician, born and raised in New York City — grew up in a New York City Housing Authority apartment.
I worked a lot of jobs I didn’t love. In 2008, a friend of a friend suggested becoming an optician. That idea grew. By 2010 I was licensed in the state of New York. But the more I learned, the more I realized I didn’t love how opticals operated — or how eyewear was priced.
What I did love was how eyewear was actually created. In 2010, that information wasn’t easy to come by. Through word of mouth I found a retired frame maker at an industry convention in New York. I persuaded him to train me.
“I slept in one bedroom and had the machines in the other.”
Two years. Afterward I sourced frame-building machines and components from Europe and China. The first frames were rough — I was learning the machines and building by hand using tools that generated heat to set hinges and wire cores into the frame.
Eventually I had a CNC milling machine, a wire core inserter, and tumblers to polish the pieces. Eyewear machinery has come a long way.
In a two-bedroom apartment in New York City. I slept in one bedroom. The machines lived in the other. I’d spent everything on materials and equipment — nothing left to rent a space. I buffered the floor with workout mats and soundproofed the room as best I could. A year in, no one had complained. I think I did a decent job.
The frames from that apartment sold to friends and a couple of local stores. Little by little, enough traction to get an office in Harlem and hire someone part-time. I made real connections in the industry — getting business became easier. Other brands approached me to design and manufacture for them, which helped the bottom line. Before long, manufacturing moved to China because I couldn’t keep up with the volume.
We saw a couple of companies doing direct-to-consumer eyewear way back when, but the quality was terrible. We knew we could do better. We control our process, sourcing and negotiating prices for the materials we use. All design details are done in-house and then sent out to be made to our specifications.
We have maintained our independence and now operate out of New York City and Cleveland. We’re a growing company — we all wear many hats. We’re truly proud of how far we’ve come.
Unfortunately, we don't have any direct partnerships with vision insurance providers, but we can assist you in getting a reimbursement for your purchase after you have paid in full at the time of purchase. In order to be reimbursed, you will first need to fill out a form from your insurance provider. After you fill out their reimbursement form, you will need to provide an itemized receipt, which we can provide you with once you have completed your purchase. We've provided some links below of popular vision insurance providers to help you get started.
Please contact your vision insurance for more information on how to file for a reimbursement.
If you have any question or you need an itemized receipt, please email us at [email protected]
We accept both FSA and HSA payments, as long as they are in the form of a credit or debit card. After you have had completed a purchase with your FSA/HSA, you can then file for a reimbursement with your vision insurance provider.
