Genusee

Wow, what a really great episode on a social enterprise called Genusee. Creatively designing eyewear out of recycled single-use plastic water bottles out of Flint, Michigan. Many of you may have heard some tough stories coming out of Flint. Specific to the water crisis over these past few years. You will meet the founders and designers, Ali Rose Van Overbeke and Jack Burns. They will discuss their journey in Flint and the whole launch process to date.

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Welcome to episode 97 of the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. This is Romy, and I am your host for this episode on a really great social enterprise called Genusee. They are out of Flint, Michigan. Many of you may have heard some tough stories coming out of Flint, Michigan specific to the water crisis over these past few years. You will meet the founders and designers, Ali Rose Van Overbeke and Jack Burns. They discuss their journey in Flint and the whole launch process to date.
Oh, it feels good to be back after a mini-hiatus. Thanks for hanging in there while we made some new shows!
By the way, we have some great episodes coming up next from the east and west coasts culminating with a finale for Season 3 and our episode 100 which will be some interviews from the recent GUS awards held in Detroit.
So subscribe and stay tuned.
Now, let’s see what Natalie has in store for us on the Fun Fuel. What do you have for us, Natalie?
I’m Natalie Hazen and I am bringing you this episode’s Fun Fuel.
In today’s world, you see so many people wearing eyeglasses and on a super bright sunny day they most certainly break out their sunglasses. Glasses have become ultra-fashionable and why shouldn’t they? They most certainly are the very first thing people see when they look at your face unless they aren’t wearing theirs and they just can’t see you.
According to the website lenspick.com, the first vision correction device was invented in 1000 AD and called a reading stone. As you can imagine, it was for farsighted folk who couldn’t read properly and was basically a glass sphere used as a magnifying glass.
Now fast forward to 12th century China and you have the creation of Sunglasses. People back then used flat crystals of smoky quartz that were mounted for personal use to reduce the glare from the sun.
It is also said that these ‘sunglasses’ were used by judges while presiding cases, so as not to give away their emotions. Very interesting.
So, throughout history, mankind has made some very unique and purposeful inventions, including eyeglasses, that truly make our lives easier.
Thanks for listening and now on to the episode.
Fascinating that the first pair of eyeglasses was documented to be in 1000 AD. Thank you, Natalie, your fun fuels are always so interesting!
Let’s jump on in for a listen now to my conversation with Ali Rose Van Overbeke and Jack Burns and their really great company, Genusee.
Romy: So let's tell the listeners about Genusee.
Ali Rose: So Genusee is making eyewear in Flint, Michigan from recycled single-use plastic water bottles that were a result of the Flint water crisis.
Romy: So is it just the eyeglass frames, or are you putting the lenses in and all that?
Ali Rose: Yeah, we're doing everything. The frames are specifically what's made from the recycled water bottles, but we are working with an optical lab, so we do prescription eyeglasses as well as sunglasses.
Romy: So how did you make