Behind the Brand: Tejesta

We are proud to introduce Behind the Brand – a series of interviews by Beamroom that highlights the brands we carry and the people behind them, as well as the experiences and perspectives that have shaped their work. 

For our first installment, we met with Jonathan Oberti from Tejesta, who shares the moment that pushed him to build something of his own, how memories and cultural references find their way into his designs, and why the right frame can change the way you carry yourself.

Read the full interview below. Tejesta is available now at Beamroom.com.

Your relationship with eyewear really starts with your dad. What was that relationship like growing up, and how did being around him and his work shape the way you saw eyewear?

Funny enough, I never really wanted to do what my dad did. My dad was always my hero, and I admired what he did and the way he did it. But eyewear wasn’t something I wanted to pursue just because of him.

Growing up, I was an athlete, and that was my focus. It wasn’t until college, when I started finding my own individuality and exploring what interested me creatively, that something shifted.

Around the same time, eyewear was starting to feel less like a medical device and more like a fashion accessory. That was when it clicked for me. I realized I could take my love for art and design and express it through something as simple as a pair of glasses. From that point on, my focus shifted completely toward eyewear.

You’ve talked about digging through your dad’s archive of frames, which goes back to the 1920s. Was there a moment—or a particular frame—when you first realized eyewear could be more than functional?

For me, Jean Paul Gaultier was the one, by a long shot.

It wasn’t even a particular frame. It was the entire body of work. I had never seen eyewear treated like that before. It was completely outside the box, and there was an imagination to it.

The glasses weren’t just there to look good or help someone see. They had personality. They could change the entire character of the person wearing them. That really opened my eyes to what eyewear could be.

Before Tejesta, you spent years representing eyewear brands like Illesteva, Dita, Thom Browne, Linda Farrow, and Ahlem while building relationships with buyers across the industry. You’ve said that having your own brand was always the goal. What did those years teach you about what you wanted Tejesta to be?

Those years taught me everything. I was a sponge, and I was a sponge on purpose. I knew I was learning things I would eventually need to start my own project.

I got to see how different brands operated, how they sold, how they built relationships with stores, and, probably most importantly, what worked and what didn’t.

One thing those years ingrained in me was that I wanted Tejesta to be a sales-rep-first brand. Sales agents and distributors are the lifeblood of independent eyewear. They’re the people out there telling the story, building the relationships, and putting the product into the hands of the right opticians.

I understood that side of the business because I lived it. I never wanted to forget that once I was on the other side.

You’d spent years learning the industry and knew you eventually wanted something of your own. When did Tejesta stop being an idea and become something you knew you had to build?

Honestly, it happened after one of the brands I was representing fired me. I’d been fired before, but this one was the nail in the coffin.

I’d recently gotten the brand into all the Robert Marc stores in New York. The owner was supposed to meet me there so we could do a series of trunk shows at the stores we’d just opened. I flew to New York, met with her to prepare for the shows, and she fired me.

That was the moment. I remember thinking I was tired of putting so much of myself into building something for someone else and never really getting to enjoy the fruits of that labor.

If I was going to work this hard and care this much, I wanted to put that energy into something of my own. That experience was the push I needed to finally do it.

Where does the inspiration behind Tejesta come from, and how do you translate those ideas into a frame?

I’ve always been fascinated by the way eyewear can change how a person is perceived. I noticed it when I was a little kid. When my grandpa wore his Persols, he looked like a movie star to me. When my dad wore his Oakley Romeos, he was Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible to me.

Obviously, they were still my grandpa and my dad. But putting on those glasses somehow changed the way I saw them. A lot of Tejesta comes from that idea.

We pull from all kinds of references—people, places, films, architecture, art, anything that leaves an impression. It could be something I remember from childhood or something I discovered two weeks ago. Once we hone in on it, the challenge is figuring out how to tell that story through a pair of glasses.

Sometimes it’s the shape. Sometimes it’s a color, a material, or a tiny detail. Sometimes it becomes an entire collection. It’s about translating that feeling into an object someone else can wear. It’s a lengthy process, but there’s a lot that goes into it.

What have you learned about yourself through building Tejesta that you don’t think you would have learned any other way?

Persistence and resilience. More than anything, I’ve learned that I can keep going. Building a brand tests both of those things constantly.

There have been plenty of moments when it would have been easier to stop or change direction. I’ve learned I can take the hit, learn from it, and keep moving.

Is there one Tejesta frame that feels especially personal to you?

Parker, hands down. The Parker because of how it makes me feel, straight up, but also how I feel when I see someone else wearing it.

When you put on the Parker, you feel like you should be wearing a leather vest and riding a chopper. There’s this cool, badass attitude to it. It commands attention without trying too hard, and you notice the person wearing it.

For me, it was one of those frames that made me feel like someone I wasn’t—or maybe let me play a version of myself I didn’t normally get to be. That’s the beauty of eyewear and what I’ve always loved about it. You put on a frame, and suddenly your posture changes a little bit. That’s what the Parker does.

As you’ve grown with the brand, how has your own taste or point of view changed?

There’s definitely been a maturing, and I don’t think it was necessarily conscious. You can see it in the shapes, the color choices, and the overall design. Early on, I think there was more of a desire to prove something through the product.

As I’ve gotten older and the brand has grown, I’ve become more comfortable with restraint. Less is more. What I’m looking for now is confidence without shouting. The frames can still be expressive and have a strong point of view, but they don’t need to be overdesigned to get your attention.

When you think about what’s next for Tejesta, what are you still chasing?

Sky’s the limit right now. Moving all of our production to Japan has raised the ceiling on what we’re capable of making, and that’s super exciting for me creatively.

There are ideas I’ve had for years that we can finally explore properly because the manufacturing and craftsmanship can meet us there. I can’t say too much more than that, but for the first time, it feels like there are fewer boundaries around what Tejesta can become.