Shady business

Luke Morris reveals the ethos behind Dubai’s hottest new sunglasses Wild Wood

What was the inspiration for these shades? I launched an outdoor and adventure community for the UAE and Oman last year called Wild Arabia, which is all about inspiring people to discover and explore the beautiful landscape that the region has to offer and to encourage people to get outdoors more. Wild Wood came from that.

How so?

Sport, the outdoors and traveling are all passions of mine and I wanted to create a store on the Wild Arabia site to make it into more of a business. I initially thought about water sports equipment but decided on handmade wooden sunglasses that are also eco-friendly.

What’s special about these sunglasses?

They are made out of wood and not plastic so they’re much more environmentally friendly. A couple of our models (the Vaquita and the Bengal Tiger) are actually made out of recycled skateboard wood. Even the case is made from bamboo to ensure the product is as eco-friendly as possible.

Are they handmade?

Yes, they are, so they are all unique, meaning you won’t see everyone walking down the street in the same pair. They have one of the highest quality lenses with around with UV400 protection. Plus, what’s pretty cool is that they float.

What’s next?

For the time being we’re putting all our focus into sunglasses, but I’ve considered broadening out – for instance into wooden watches.