Don’t be afraid of the guy in shades.
A sunglasses shop channeling its inner Corey Hart is installing vending machine that spit out high-end shades at ultra-hip nightclubs, betting on the fact that Brooklynites will be excited about wearing their sunglasses at night.
“We’re targeting places where people are out partying late,” said the aptly named Zoe Nightingale, co-owner of The Monocle Order, which is responsible for the scheme. “Too much partying and people need sunglasses for the morning.”
The machines, which have already been installed on the rooftop of Output Nightclub on Wythe Avenue between N. 11th and N. 12th streets, disperse glasses that run for $50 to $150, which is a little bit less than the shades in the new Monocle Order store, which opened last month on Devoe Street and sells most glasses for between $200 and $400, but significantly more than the small change clubbers drop into machines for aspirin, cologne and, well, other after-party accessories.
But the machine’s owners think they can take advantage on impulse shopping by night owls who have thrown back a few drinks.
“People in nightclubs will pay anything,” said Nightingale. “They really will.”
Last summer, Nightingale and co-owner Alex Van hired woodworker Stefan Rurak — who has created briefcases and sex dolls out of dead trees, as well as chairs and tables — to retrofit an old snack machine to house the glasses.
They set up the vending machine at the King & Grove Hotel on North 12th Street and it was a rousing success, selling about 40 pairs a month, Nightingale said. Revelers were undeterred, she said, by not being able to try the glasses on before buying.
“We offer a lot of classic shapes and people have been buying sunglasses their whole lives,” Nightingale said. “They know what styles work for them, whether it is Aviators or Wayfarers or flat-tops.”
When summer is over, Nightingale and Van plan to take the glasses out of the vending machine and stock it with other impulse items popular with club-goers, such as earplugs and, well, you know.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.
