When the business at his father’s repair shop took off and the vintage glasses were constantly being sent to collectors abroad, Ochis founder decided to step aside from the working routine. He could finally afford to start something of his own and it obviously had to be creating eyewear!

Max began to set up his mini-workshop at home by buying different equipment. His first memorable investment was a cutting machine imported from Germany — it used vector images to cut out the frames, so he could get creative with the designs. The first glasses he created were made from cellulose acetate and had a stylish look to them, but Max soon understood that he wasn’t competent enough to make them as perfectly as he wanted to. It’s one thing knowing everything about eyewear but making them from scratch is totally different. 

At that point, he decided to try his luck in a different place. He had a lot of friends in New York who were waiting for him to visit, so Max had an idea to rent out a small bus and turn it into a traveling eyewear repair station. He would drive around Manhattan and provide great service for people who really valued their time. This seemed like a perfect plan and Max was feeling hopeful, but then his visa application got denied. The American dream couldn’t come true either, so he took it as a sign to take a break from eyewear.

For two years Max has been trying his hand at other stuff — interior design, making wooden sockets, and even building a house. He started to learn more about conscious consumption and ecology, began meditating, revaluated his life purpose.

Still, nothing felt right or measured to the feeling of real creativity that he used to have back at his apartment by the cutting machine.

So Max caved in. His inner feeling got too strong and overwhelming; he couldn’t resist his calling anymore and returned to his true passion of making eyewear. But something was different this time – he made a conscious decision not to use any plastic. This time round he promised himself that the glasses he’d make wouldn’t do any harm to the planet.

This precise moment in Max’s life was the real beginning of Ochis. It pushed him to form a strong vision of the future product and shaped his values. From here on Max started his search for a perfect eco-friendly material for his unique eyewear, which eventually resulted in the coffee-based glasses we create today.

To find out what happened next, follow the stories section.