Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren “Lo” Ivey.
Hi Lauren “Lo”, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been in PR and communications for about nine years, working across different organizations, but Framed by Lo actually started from something much more personal. Back in 2021, I was in Washington, DC, and I kept coming back to this idea that sunglasses were more than an accessory for me — they were almost like armor. There’s something about putting on a great pair of sunglasses that makes you feel a little more confident, a little more ready to show up as yourself, even on the days you don’t feel like it. I couldn’t find that feeling represented in a brand that felt both accessible and elevated, so I decided to build it myself.
I started small, working with wholesale frames just to get the brand off the ground while I was still working full-time. Once I’d saved enough, I was able to move into curating my own custom frames — the FBL frame was the first style I created, and that was a huge turning point for me. Since then I’ve grown the line to include several signature styles, and I’ve built Framed by Lo around a few core ideas: armor, being unapologetic, feeling good, and community.
I’m still running FBL solo, alongside my full-time career, and honestly that’s part of the story too — proving to myself that I could build something meaningful in the hours before and after my day job.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, and I think that’s true for most entrepreneurs, especially if you’re bootstrapping. The two biggest struggles for me have been funding and being a one-woman show.
On the funding side, I’ve built Framed by Lo without outside investment, which means every step — from ordering inventory to launching new frames — has had to be earned and reinvested back into the business. That’s meant a lot of patience and a lot of prioritizing what actually moves the needle versus what I wish I could do right now.
And then there’s the reality of being a one-woman show. I’m the designer, the marketer, the customer service team, the person packing orders — all of it — and I’m doing that while working a full-time career in PR. There’s no team to hand things off to when I’m stretched thin, so learning how to prioritize, delegate where I can, and give myself grace on the days I can’t do it all has been its own kind of growth. It’s taught me a lot about resilience, but I won’t pretend it hasn’t been hard.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At my core, I’m a storyteller — that’s what nine-plus years in PR and communications has trained me to do — and Framed by Lo is where I get to apply that skill to something I built myself, from the ground up. I design and run an affordable luxury sunglasses brand rooted in the idea that what you wear can genuinely shift how you feel. I call it “emotional armor” — the confidence boost you get from a great pair of sunglasses, whether you’re heading into a big meeting or just trying to feel like yourself on a hard day.
I specialize in building brand identity from instinct and strategy at the same time. I don’t have a big agency or a design team behind me — I’m shaping the positioning, the visual identity, the marketing, and the product decisions myself, and I think that shows up as a real point of view rather than something that feels manufactured by committee.
What I’m most proud of is the FBL frame — the first style I designed completely from scratch after starting out with wholesale frames. Getting to that point meant saving, reinvesting, and betting on myself before I had any outside validation that it would work.
What sets me apart is that combination: I’m not just a founder, I’m a trained communicator, so I know how to build a brand that actually connects with people, not just one that looks good. Everything I create — down to the language on my site, “Find Your Frame. Feel Undeniable.” — comes from understanding both the emotional side of the product and the strategy behind getting it in front of the right audience.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always a leader — the speaker, the social butterfly, the one people would find in every group because I was never shy and I was always laughing about something. I was daring and spontaneous, the kind of kid who’d jump into things headfirst rather than sit back and watch.
I always knew I wanted to be something big, even if I couldn’t have told you exactly what that meant at any given age. That vision changed a lot over the years — the specifics shifted as I grew and figured out what actually lit me up — but the throughline was always there: I wanted to build something, lead something, be known for something. Looking back, it makes sense that I ended up here, telling stories professionally and building a brand of my own. Even as a kid, I think I was already rehearsing for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://framedbylo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/framedbylo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/framedbylo
