Powers Combined: DESIAR Eyewear & CEV Eyewear Partner Up

Above: DESIAR Eyewear’s Jamal Robinson (left) with CEV Eyewear’s Jaylon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys

As reported in Issue 7 of the FWIS, the all-business edition, Fort Wayne native Jamal Robinson, founder and CEO of DESIAR Eyewear, celebrated a milestone moment for his company: the official product launch of his handcrafted eyewear.  The FWIS interviewed Robinson about his recent eyewear partnership with another Fort Wayne native, Jaylon Smith.

Fort Wayne Ink Spot (FWIS): How did the partnership start…who approached who and when?

Jamal Robinson, DESIAR: Jaylon and I met through a mutual friend and advisor, Michael Ledo. We initially were brainstorming ideas of what and if there were opportunities to work together, specifically focused on Jaylon’s tagline, “Clear Eye View.”  We agreed that a good opportunity would be in the formation of a new venture and line of eyewear, CEV Collection.

FWIS: Can you tell me the specifics of the partnership…how does it work?

Robinson: We’re a great partnership; we [created] structured roles and expectations before launching.  My background in product development and his background in sales and marketing made natural sense for the breakdown of the business.

We both take product development seriously and are involved with the design process.  With both of our work outside of this venture, we have a team that is helping us build the brand and a distribution center that helps ship products to our customers.

FWIS: What does this partnership mean for your business? Is this the kind of relationship you always envisioned for yourself or did you always think you would go at it alone?

Robinson: Partnerships are always valuable, in every aspect of life.  Jaylon and I are a solid partnership because we have the same core values and beliefs in how we operate business.  I believe that is what helps us align to how we manage the company.  This level of alignment and trust is the kind of partnership and relationship I always look to envision when building a business with someone.

FWIS: Just talk about where you are with your business now…has it grown since the last time we featured you, outside of working with Jaylon?

Robinson: Since we last spoke, I’ve purchased more equipment for production and have opened new retail accounts.

As for CEV, we just shipped our new collection sold throughout the Dallas Cowboys retail channels, online, and in AT&T Stadium.