How Vintage & Vision Inspired Dani Drasin’s Eyewear Brand
“I gravitate towards the perverse and the macabre, the wild and humorous.”
Source: Instagram
Dani Drasin is the founder of LULA PACE.
What was the Lightbulb Moment that inspired you to fully dive into what you do?
I was always fascinated by eyewear; I started wearing glasses in middle school and they made me feel special in a weird way. I would scour the glossy pages of Vogue before I could even read — well not literally, but I was definitely into fashion at a young age. I would pull out all of my favorite ads and line every square inch of the ceiling in my bedroom with them: There were iconic mid-2000s shoots of Kate Moss, Giselle, Paris Hilton, and Gemma Ward to name a few. I collected vintage eyewear and amassed a huge collection by the time I finished high school. This eventually led me to one of my first jobs at Oliver Peoples, where my affinity for luxury eyewear further developed. The founder, Larry Leight, became a mentor of mine and was always very motivating.
After working at Oliver Peoples, I studied and worked in London and then NYC. Then I returned to Los Angeles to work as a merchandiser and product developer at American Apparel (pre-sale to Gildan). With Larry’s words of wisdom still in my head, I started researching every aspect of the business, supply chain, sourcing, materials, product development, and doing everything I could to make my business idea a reality. Once I realized I had something, I began working on my business plan and developing the brand that would soon become LULA PACE full time. It has definitely been a wild ride and I have learned (and still am learning) so much.
What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned in your current career?
The way I look at business now is completely different to when I started my journey into entrepreneurship. I always knew starting a business would be hard, but you never truly know until you are in it for yourself. There is so much more that goes on than what you see on the surface. What the customer sees on Instagram and PR is about 1% of all of the work it takes to run a company. I’d compare it to the tip of an iceberg. What was really unexpected for me was how much longer things took than I originally thought. For example, the supply chain is quite intricate, and production lead times from design and development and sampling to actually receiving your finished order can take around a year, especially when you are starting from scratch. I could probably list about 100 more things, but we may need to save them for a longer conversation.
What often sparks your creativity or gets you into the creative zone?
Definitely a playlist. Music has always been an outlet for me to dive into my creative side. I love a Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill” moment. I’d say film is my biggest inspiration: I gravitate towards the perverse and the macabre, the wild and humorous. I even named LULA PACE after Laura Dern’s character in David Lynch’s Wild At Heart. Some of my favorite movies to watch to get me in the mood are John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and Virgin Suicides, Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes, Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely, Vincent Gallo’s Buffalo 66, and my ultimate 90s favorites: Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, Clueless, and Party Girl!
What is your unfiltered advice for anyone looking to break into your industry?
Do not expect it to be easy; success doesn’t come overnight. Do your research. Hustle, hustle, hustle. Never be afraid to put yourself out there. If you see an opportunity jump on it and you won’t have any regrets. Also, it’s never too late to start. Have specific goals and visualize that they are already achieved — every day. If you work hard and stay focused on those goals, you can make anything happen!
Oct 13, 2020
By Natalie Alcala