Models Zac and Jordan Stenmark unveil science-backed sunglasses.
The Stenmark twins launch e-commerce venture Dreamers; a new eyewear brand for the stylish and sleep-deprived.
Zac and Jordan Stenmark know a thing or two about disrupted circadian rhythms. The demands of their international modelling careers sent them crisscrossing time zones for the best part of their twenties.
And while the Sydney-born siblings relished the exotic fashion shoots and global roaming their careers afforded them, both agree the non-stop travel has played havoc with their sleep and emotional health.
“A few years ago I flew from LA to New York on a red eye and didn’t sleep for two days,” Jordan says. “I remember sitting in my apartment in New York just listening to the sounds of cars for hours, and just trying to force myself to fall sleep. All that travel and constantly changing our sleep/wake cycle really brought home the point of how important sleep is.”
As casualties of Australia’s COVID-induced international travel hiatus, the formerly New York-based models have been busy turning this pain point into a solution for style-conscious insomniacs – launching Dreamers, a blue-green light-blocking eyewear brand.
And the entrepreneurial twins’ have plenty of support, with a Yale professor and billionaire angel investor Hamish Douglass backing the new fashion-tech venture.
“We funded a large per cent of the research and development ourselves, and Dad (philanthropist Damien Stenmark) also came in and was one of the first people we came to with the product and said ‘we had this idea, what do you reckon?’,” says Jordan.
“(Douglass) is also really supportive of what we’ve done today and an amazing person to have as part of the team.”
What sets Dreamers apart from the scores of blue-light blocking accessories out there, says Zac, is its focus on not one, but two sleep-disrupting colours on the light spectrum.
“Blue light’s been talked about a fair bit, but not as many have talked about blue green light,” the 29-year-old explains. “Blue light has a big impact on inhibiting the body’s ability to produce the sleep hormone melatonin – it’s responsible for about 50 to 60 per cent, but 40 per cent is green light, so it’s the combination of the two which really affects sleep.”
It was a chance meeting with US scientist Dr. Stafford W. Sheehan five years ago which gave the twins confidence their idea – to create DreamTech Sleep and Screen lenses, which now has a patent pending – had legs.
“He and Zac got a coffee together to talk about it, and he wrote down the formula on a napkin which has now grown to a 38 page document,” Jordan says, laughing.
“We started about five years ago but it’s been about three years of research and development of the product itself.”
Aesthetic has also been carefully considered, with the pair turning to their fashionable inner circle for both design input and feedback on the range, which retails for AU$175 and includes a retro-inspired aviator and classic D-frame wayfarer.
“We consulted with friends in industry like Imran Amed from Business of Fashion, asking what they thought of the different styles,” Zac explains. “We wanted to bring the perspectives of both science and fashion … but at the end of the day Dreamers is a sleep company focused on improving sleep hygiene and health.”