So, it's 2023. That's crazy, but Team Roshambo is fired up for the calendar to flip. We used a ludicrous amount of "work" hours in 2022 planning for 2023, and we can't wait to share all the great stuff the eyewear elves have been dreaming up here. We are taking some big risks, getting a little crazy, and going to have a lot of fun. Looking forward to sharing it all with our incredible, loyal, inspiring, and brilliant (based on eyewear taste) customers. 

In the spirit of planning, we thought our little family company should have New Year's resolutions too. Our dear friend and brand ambassador, Happy Potamus, took out his favorite inkpot and quill and we put together this little list in case you are looking for something to peruse with your hot toddy this morning. 

1. Be Greener. 

How: a) Be gone, plastic! We already use recycled plastic in about 40% of our frames (the good news is there is very little plastic in our frames anyway, mostly rubber, magic, and Italian unicorn laughter). Our Italian manufacturer has a crazy/awesome plan to use recycled ocean fish nets in all of our frames hopefully starting this year. Love. It. 100% no fishy smell guarantee. We'll also continue to minimize plastic in all packaging. We already use all paper packaging in both our retail and online packaging. We are working on solutions to entirely remove plastic across all packaging materials wherever humanely (hippo-ly?) possible. b) Ship cleaner. We will continue certifying carbon offset ecommerce shipping on our website. We are working with Route shipping insurance (you will see it at checkout) to offset every order's carbon footprint while also protecting your package from damage and porch pirates. For those customers that choose not to use the shipping insurance, we will still offset with our partnership with Carbon Fund. Every order offset, period. 

2. Give More. 

Charity is at our core, in fact it is part of our founding and the inspiration for our name. Check that out here if you like a good origin story. It all started with giving to autism charity, which we still do, but it has grown from there! We are so proud to have developed partnerships with some incredible groups: GiGi's Playhouse (Down syndrome), Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (pediatric cancer), and Promises2Kids (foster support), among others! Big shout to our Marketing Director, Stacy, for spearheading many of these charitable efforts. We have given tens of thousands over the years, but we're just getting started. This year, we are particularly fired up to provide no cost prescription glasses to foster kids in need in our community. Small things can make a big difference.

3. Make Buying Easier. 

Ok, this one is kinda selfish, but we think you'll like it. We are investing in rad-ifying (that's a word, right?) our website, which is kind of like investing in saving you time, and that's really the greatest gift of all. We are rolling out some really cool new stuff this year (see below), and that will require a slick new way to show it off to you. Virtually try on your shades before you order? On it. Sort collections with super cool icons instead of boring old words? Yep. More Happy Potamus throughout the website, you say? No doubt.

4. Go to Ludicrous Speed.

This is what's called a tease in marketing (maybe, never took a marketing class). Stay tuned for our first new product launch of the year any day now... (hint: one of the new products is called Ludicrous Speed). As mentioned above, we are taking some risks and going a little crazy this year. 

We are a quirky, happy (potamus!), bold, bright, rambunctious, out-kick-our-coverage, pretend-we-are-bigger-than-we are little family business, and we like it that way. There are 10 of us working under one roof to do it all: product design, marketing, assembly, pack, ship, take out the trash, organize happy (potamus! ok, that's the last time) hours, inventory managing, customer servicing, hippo grooming, therapy sessions... you name it, we do it -- but after 10 years (!) going from an idea, to a side hustle (for about 5 years...), to a "real" business (let's say since 2017...), we think we can become a true leader in the eyewear game in the next couple years. 2023 is the launch pad. Ludicrous Speed, Go!!!! (If you don't know the reference, I highly recommend investing 90 minutes in a rewatch of Spaceballs). 

Our promise to you: even if this crazy gamble pays off and we strap ourselves to a rocket, we will always be a small business pretending to be a bigger one. We don't know another way other than hand assembling and packing every order, making confusingly great customer service our only real success goal, and never taking ourselves too seriously. We like to say, "There are no sunglasses emergencies" as a reminder of the corporate anxiety trap most of us in the office came from. Flip side of that: if we did all this crazy stuff and ya'll don't like it, we might have a sunglasses emergency on our hands. Cheers to taking risks. 

Stay tuned for great stuff and have a wild, bold, exhilarating and magical 2023. From our family to yours, we wish a year full of health, joy, and great eyewear.

- Scott, Julia & Team Roshambo (Stacy, Jenny, Linda, Rob, Rachel, Simone, Melissa & Adriana to be precise)

p.s. Almost forgot the last resolution: 5. Plant a Garden.Because gardens are good for the soul. Our new headquarters parking lot has a perfect little spot. Thinking sunflowers...