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The spark came on a film set. Maureen Ryza—then working in costume design—was dressing characters for a story set in 1975 when she saw what the right frames could do. “A single moment in time sparked AZYR Specs, I remember it vividly,” she says. “I was dressing the characters to portray the decade, and I abruptly noticed how they were transformed when they put vintage eyewear on their face. More than an accessory, it was a persona. It IS a persona.” There was just one problem: “Most of these glasses had old prescription lenses in them, deeming them unusable.”
Out of that limitation, Ryza glimpsed a bigger mission. “Coming from the fashion industry, I had always been uneasy about its wastefulness,” she explains. “This felt like my chance to make a change. What came next, is the beginning of AZYR Specs.” The early days were scrappy and tactile—“a plethora of old vintage glasses on eBay, immersion in the decade 1970s [day in, day out], and a trusty optician”—and they led to the company’s guiding line: “A way to give vintage eyewear new life while redefining how we see ourselves.”
That ethos informs both the product and the purpose. “We solve the problem of mass-produced, wasteful eyewear by transforming forgotten frames into wearable collector’s pieces,” Ryza says. “We like to call them heirlooms in the making.” She points to a cultural shift favoring authenticity: “In a world increasingly defined by technology, now more than ever, people are craving objects with human touch, history, and imperfections.” AZYR Specs aims to deliver exactly that “through refined vintage eyewear.”
Crucially, Ryza sees the audience as broad—and personal. “Our audience is wide: glasses wearers who crave identity but don’t know where to find it, and eco-conscious buyers who want their choices to matter,” she says. “Glasses are an everyday essential, prescription or not. The sun shines daily, what do you want your eyewear to say about you?” The question is both style prompt and thesis statement: frames as daily declaration.
In a market full of “heritage” branding and retro vibes, Ryza insists on the real thing. “While other eyewear brands are creating ‘heritage’ or vintage-inspired pieces, I am offering the real thing,” she says. “This makes each piece authentic, rare, and culturally significant.” Sourcing is central: “Through our sourcing trips, AZYR Specs has made global connections, and continues to do so.” Those trips also shaped the business model. “It has also shifted our model from one-off products to scalable,” she notes. “In the eyewear industry as a whole, we stand out by taking iconic pieces of design from the past and bringing them back to the forefront.”
That stance extends beyond product pages and Instagram. “In the world of vintage eyewear sellers, our dedication to innovation sets us far apart,” Ryza says. “Our desire is to blend the past and the present, and turn this passion into an unforgettable online experience. Past the showroom, past the social media. We are building an entire brand world.” Part of the job is educational: “Some people don’t even know this problem exists.” AZYR Specs positions itself as both curator and guide—translating design history for modern wearers.
Customization is a major throughline. “We aim to bring vintage eyewear back to the forefront, highlighting artistry and history but making it possible for customization to the everyday, modern wearer,” she says. The idea is to preserve the soul of a frame while refining its fit and function for daily life—what Ryza calls “refined collector’s pieces” that are meant to be worn, not shelved.
Now the brand is preparing its most tangible expression yet: a permanent showroom in New York City. “What’s immediately next is opening AZYR Specs’ first permanent showroom in New York City,” Ryza says. It’s a milestone made meaningful by the path that led there. “From a basement in Bedstuy, to a fifth-floor walk-up apartment in Chinatown, to pop-ups across NYC, Chicago, Paris and London, we’ve grown step by step to this milestone.” The space will elevate the service model. “The showroom will [allow] us to host private client and stylist appointments, offer fittings and consultations, and refine frames on-site with professional equipment.”
Ryza is careful to frame the showroom as more than a workspace. “Rather than just a working studio, it will be a stage for our collection, a hub of professionalism, and a space that brings the AZYR Specs experience to life,” she says. She sees it as the launchpad for a wider push: “Consider it our first step towards globalization. With a dedicated floor to host events in the space, we’ll also bring the AZYR Specs Club from concept to execution, transforming our community into a living, breathing extension of the brand.” The club concept—events, conversations, and collector culture—echoes her belief that eyewear is identity-laden art.
Of course, building any brand with global ambitions requires discipline as well as taste. Ryza’s biggest founder lesson can be summed up in a single word: “Delegate,” she says. “As a founder, it’s easy to take on everything yourself, but that only leads to overwhelm and missed opportunities. My biggest lesson has been learning that the business grows faster when I focus on what I do best and empower others to take ownership of the rest.” It’s advice she wishes she’d heard—and heeded—earlier. “If I could go back, I’d tell myself to delegate from the very beginning,” she says. “Mentors matter, and while the founder’s journey is full of highs and lows, if you believe in your vision, others will too. It can be a lonely journey but it doesn’t have to.”
Why follow AZYR Specs now? Because the company is trying to fuse two priorities that rarely coexist at scale: unapologetic individuality and serious sustainability. “People might want to follow AZYR Specs because we are redefining what eyewear can be,” Ryza says. “Turning forgotten vintage into refined collector’s pieces, while building a global movement around sustainability and style.” The next phase includes both bricks and clicks. “We’re expanding from pop-ups to a permanent NYC showroom, and at the same time creating a seamless online experience with tools like a face-shape guide, personalized profiles, and curated recommendations,” she explains. “With the right team in place, we can scale this vision much faster while bringing a whole new standard of individuality and sustainability to the eyewear industry.”
The throughline is as philosophical as it is operational: honor the past, refine it for the present, and wear it into the future. AZYR Specs isn’t only swapping lenses; it’s reframing how people see themselves—literally and figuratively. The founder’s original insight on that 1975 movie set endures as a brand mantra and a customer promise: “A way to give vintage eyewear new life while redefining how we see ourselves.”
In an era when “retro” often means mass-produced knockoffs of the real thing, Ryza’s insistence on authenticity is both a design choice and a climate stance. Frames become “heirlooms in the making,” stories you carry on your face. And as Ryza reminds us, the choice is daily and intentional: “Glasses are an everyday essential, prescription or not. The sun shines daily, what do you want your eyewear to say about you?”
Maureen Ryza’s Bio
Maureen Ryza is the Founder of AZYR Specs, a New York-based vintage eyewear brand dedicated to transforming the industry through innovation, curation, and collaboration. With a background in costume design and styling for TV and film, she saw firsthand how eyewear shapes identity and storytelling. Originally from Chicago, Maureen has built a global network of collectors, opticians, and creatives to revive forgotten frames as refined collector’s pieces. Her mission goes beyond fashion—she aims to change the world and the eyewear industry by proving sustainability can be synonymous with luxury, and that glasses can inspire confidence, culture, and change.
Links:
Website: www.azyrspecs.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maureen-ryza-3b548890
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