Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Ramón Asunción CEO and founde Carsten Boyd sunglasses
Ramón Asunción
Ramón Asunción launched Carsten Boyd in September 2021, but traces the roots of his business to 1997 when he was in college in the Philippines. Born in the City of Manila, Asunción, 46, studied industrial design at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and dreamed of one day designing cars. But after graduation, he faced a challenging labor market and turned to modeling for local and national clients, walking the runway, primarily for Filipino brands, and developed a love for fashion. In 2001, he bought a one-way ticket to the United States. In Los Angeles, he worked as a ballroom dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studio and met his future wife. The couple eventually moved to St. Louis to be closer to family and Asunción took a job in management at Trader Joe’s. He credits the experience with teaching him the back-office fundamentals needed to run a business. “It was all of these experiences coming together that made Carsten Boyd: fashion, design, business knowledge,” he says. Asunción, who lives in O'Fallon, Missouri, with his wife, Alison, and their two children, talks to us about what it takes to build an eyewear company.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Carsten Boyd sunglasses
Carsten Boyd sunglasses
I’m interested to learn about your design process. What can you tell us about it?
When I’m designing I try to get into the mindset of whoever is going to wear the sunglasses. I think about what I like, what I’m looking for in a pair of sunglasses. I love aviators, so I made a pair in that style. These are everyday sunglasses that you could use for driving. I also wanted a round design, a square design, a pair that’s minimal and bare. Then I thought of colors and played with options. I asked myself: What kind of metal and plastics would suit these silhouettes? What type of nose bridge? What type of leather? I sketch the product on paper and send the image to the manufacturer who puts them into a computer program for production. There’s a lot of back and forth once I send that initial sketch. My first collection took 17 months from initial concept to finished product.
Your sunglasses are made in Italy. Why was it important for you to work with Italian manufacturers?
I wanted Italian makemanship because there’s a lot of history there. They are really good craftsmen. I started this process in the heart of the pandemic and cold-called Italian factories. It was poor timing because most were shut down due to Covid—the pandemic was so bad in Italy at that time. But I wanted to start at the top and see what happened. I called 15 factories and three got back to me saying they could create what I was looking for. I didn’t want my line to be mass produced. I would rather them focus on quality and value. Today all my sunglasses are made in Italy: the hinges, lenses, acetate, plastic, and leather. My goal is to make a product that will last.
Who is Carsten Boyd?
When I founded the company I knew I wanted it to be someone's name, just not my name. I thought, Who is the persona of the sunglasses? Who is the guy who is wearing them? He is sophisticated and classy, he loves cars, especially Porsches–my favorite car that happens to be made in Germany. I looked up German names and Carsten came up; it means Christian in German and my faith is very important to me so that was perfect. And Boyd just sounded good! I think of Carsten Boyd as my alter ego.
How do you describe your sunglasses?
Sophisticated, classy, and unique. Those are the things that I want people to feel when they’re wearing the brand. My glasses celebrate life and individuality. I enjoy style but I’m also a father so they need to be practical.
What pair do you prefer to wear?
You’ll probably find me wearing the Tanner, our daily driver aviator, but I love them all and switch up my glasses depending on my outfit.
Do you have plans to expand the collection?
Right now I don’t, mostly because of the capital expense. I want to go through the inventory I have before producing new styles.
Where can people buy your sunglasses?
Everything can be bought on my website carstenboyd.com. Locally, the glasses can be bought at the Crimson Serpent in The Grove. A few stores nationwide carry them, including The Joseph Hotel in Nashville, Absolute Me in New Jersey, and Feelin’ Memphis in Memphis.
