KIM DANG

Photos: Corinne Kramer (www.corinnekramer.ch)

Seeyou-Magazine: Congratulations, Strada del Sole is only a couples of years old and has just been awarded for another time. How many awards have you got so far and which one is your favourite? 
Sandra Kaufmann: Oh, i don't remember exactly how many there are... (Sandra smiles embarassedly) it must be around six or seven. My favourite awards so far have been the ones from the Internatonal Optical Fair Tokyo (IOFT), Asias leading optical trade fair: we have won the Grand Prix for the Eyewear of the Year twice, one time it was in the category "Technology" for our metal frames, the other time it was an award in the category "Ladies Eyewear" for our female Acetate-frames. Those two awards were for me personally very satisfying because I admire Japan for being such a design conscious culture.



Seeyou-Magazine: Do awards help your business?

Sandra Kaufmann: Yes, getting awarded ist very helpful. This is a possiblity to get more press about one's company, and there are indeed some clients that wish to buy the exact model that got awarded. A phenomenon that occurs especially in the Asia market.

Seeyou-Magazine: Can you describe Strada del Sole in a couple of  words?

Sandra Kaufmann: We make innovative sunglasses that are super flat and flexible. You can put them in the backpocket of your jeans and sit on them. The slogan "Reduced to the max" is one of the main ideas behind the brand: our style is quite technical and functional but with highest quality standards, a trademark of traditional Swiss product design. 


Seeyou-Magazine:What does the name of your brand mean?
Sandra Kaufmann: Strada del Sole is named after the highway in Italy which leads from Milan to Naples. It was built in the late fifties, early sixties, and is actually "the way to the  beach". With this name we would like to transport a certain feeling of fun: hop in your car, put on your sunglasses and drive to the sunny beach! On one hand we have this rather functional product but on the other hand for me primarily a product has to look appealing. If one people does nott fall in love with a product there is no justification for it, this is quite important. We try to make a product for afficionados made with a lot of heartblood. 

Seeyou-Magazine: Why sunglasses?
Sandra Kaufmann: Before starting my own brand i have worked in the watch industry, designing watches. There are a lot of similiraties between watches and eyewear: they are both accessories with a functional aspect. But also important is the decorative side. Starting a new brand in the watches sector, especially in Switzerland, a watch-country par excellence, is quite a difficult task. There are already so many fantastic watch brands with a long tradition. Compared to that market there are not many brands in the eyewear sector in Switzerland.
Sunglasses also because i wear spectacles myself and if you want to design eyeware you better start with sunglasses: They are more spectacular and dramatic and one has more possibilites to express oneself as a designer. Also there is a bigger tolerance in that field then to designing optical frames. You really have to be a little bit peculiar and crazy in the eyewear sector, just to get noticed as a small, young brand, you have to offer something special. 

Seeyou-Magazine: What part do you like most of your job?
Sandra Kaufmann: I have both sides in me: the down-to-earth and wearable side and the crazy ideas. The aspect that interests me the most is the overall concept, not only the design aspect. In a small brand like Strada del Sole i am also involved with other factors that are important to our brand's visual identity:  package design, advertising campaigns and trade fair stands. The whole conceptional thinking of a brand is very exciting.

Seeyou-Magazine: What was one of your highlights in your career so far?

Sandra Kaufmann: The King and the Queen of Norway were wearing Strada del Sole. Together with Mrs Doris Leuthard from the Swiss Government they visited the expostion of the Swiss Federal Design Awards that tours each year around the world. Mrs Leuthard spontanously put a pair of sunglasses on the king's nose. Imagine! I thought you were not supposed to touch royalty, or is it only with the Queen of Britain? But Mrs. Leuthard has this uncomplicated air about her, with her big smile. Anyway, the Queen of Norway happens to be a a sunglasses collector and was so exciteted about our products that she wanted to buy a pair right away. Also Mrs. Leuthard is fan, she owns our models SDS 017 and SDS 016.The Queen wears our model SDS 010, a pompous, feminine frame in silver metal.




Visit Stada del Sole's cool new website: 
www.stradadelsole.ch