About

Manis is a premium fashion sunglasses brand born in Seattle, WA. In the great Pacific Northwest we don’t see the sun much but when we do we need protection from the sun’s harsh rays. We are also surrounded by water and in the winter snow in the mountains. So we not only need cool eyewear but eyewear that provides protection in the extreme environments of the PNW. All our eyewear includes high-end features such as TAC UV400 polarized lenses to provide clarity in extreme conditions, along with acetate wire infused arms and spring hinges for a custom fit. Our goal is to deliver affordable high quality eyewear that makes you look like a rock star.

Who is Manis? I’m founder Dave Billinghurst, a creative professional in Seattle, Washington. I own a small design agency, Pure Design Group, specializing in strategy, design and development and marketing after years working in the snowboard industry in the 90’s.

While I enjoy helping companies build their brand, I was searching to create my own brand. Something I could build on my own. Using my marketing and design knowledge I decided to start Manis. The goal is to build a business from the ground up the way you would want to. No client reviews or convincing someone else the logo didn’t need to be bigger. I wanted to do things my way and this is our leap into the unknown of trying to do just that.

So where does the name Manis come from? It’s pretty hard coming up with a cool name for a brand. So many good ideas have been taken already. But for me, there is a formula for a good name. First is has to have a cool first letter that works well for a the mark/logo. It has to be two syllables or less. And it also just has to sound cool and be unique. Nowadays changing a word ending in S to a Z is a pretty common way to make your brand name unique but that has been done a lot and even those variations of common words have been taken. So sometimes you are left with just making something up. I was going back and forth on ideas and thought, what about M (means), A (absolutely), N (nothing), I (in), S (snowboarding). Yup, that is how I came up with the name. Sure Manis does have a few dictionary meanings but none of them were part of the idea when coming up with the name. Sometimes the naming of a brand is just a silly idea. So there you have it… MANIS.

Follow me on the journey to create this brand.

Dave