“After working in the eyewear
industry internationally, we returned
home to the east coast of Canada to
start a different kind of eyewear
company - specializing in design and
prototyping, short-run production
and custom handmade eyewear under
our house brand Fellow Earthlings,”
says Sydney Seggie.
“From our seaside workshop, Fellow
Earthlings offers handmade-to-order
eyewear, giving customers the oppor-
tunity to select their own shape,
material and lens combinations.”
P.E.I. has a long-standing history in
the eyewear industry and was once the
go-to location for fashionable lenses.
The Seggies are proud of what they do.
“To be able to bring eyewear manufac-
turing back to Canada - most people
don't remember there were once factories
in P.E.I., New Brunswick, Ontario. To
be able to offer an affordable made-to-
order service where the choice is given
back to the customer and they can also
feel good about where it is made, is
something we're really proud of.”
“Fellow Earthlings has returned eye-
wear manufacturing to the island. At
one time, P.E.I. had a thriving indus-
try making products for major brands
from Ray-Ban to Ralph Lauren in the
late 1980s,” says Seggie.
“My father was involved in the old
Tannereye factory and introduced
us to our frame-making mentor John
Barr, who had been the production
manager at the factory after working
in eyewear factories all over the
world, starting in England when he
was 15.”
Fellow Earthlings can satisfy any
style preference and they take things
to the next level.
“The launch of our Fellow Earthlings
(RE)FE collection is a culmination
of our commitment to sustainability
and creativity,” says Seggie.
“Every pair of (RE)FE is made from
one of our handmade recycled mate-
rial slabs, recycled in house by Fellow
Earthlings from scrap material that
would otherwise be waste in a tradi-
tional manufacturing environment.”
The pair brings back years of experience
to P.E.I.
“We previously worked internationally
in the licensed eyewear industry doing
brand management where we developed
a passion for eyewear design. We got the
itch to start our own company back
home in Canada and take that passion
one step further into eyewear
manufacturing.”
For their success, Sydney says it’s all
about “constant improvement, always
trying to be better, never stopping,
listening and learning. Never feeling
like you're there because once you're
at the top of a hill you can only go down,
so always keep climbing.”
For more information on Fellow
Earthlings, visit fellowearthlings.com
OPTICAL PRISM | January 2019 27