Conversations with Kadayalee Or Frame Washington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kadayalee Or Frame Washington.

Hi Kadayalee or Frame, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I built KLEECHI from the ground up — no inherited audience, no major retail machine behind me, no large sales team, and no blueprint. What I did have was an eye for design, an obsession with eyewear, and the ability to sell a vision before everyone else could see it.

KLEECHI is a Brooklyn-built independent luxury eyewear brand rooted in statement design, culture and mythology. I wanted to create frames that didn’t simply complement what someone was wearing — I wanted the eyewear to be the conversation. Over the years, I’ve personally been involved in nearly every part of building the company: design and product development, manufacturing, customer acquisition, fulfillment, marketing, partnerships and, most importantly, selling.

A huge part of our growth happened one conversation at a time. I sold directly to people in restaurants, nightlife, events, optical locations, through social media, referrals and anywhere I could put the product in front of the right person. Those conversations turned into customers, those customers became repeat buyers and collectors, and eventually hundreds of KLEECHI frames were moving at premium and collectible price points.

That grassroots approach has taken the brand places I couldn’t have manufactured with marketing alone. KLEECHI has been worn by multiple celebrities, including A-list talent, appeared in music and entertainment, entered optical retail, and continued to build a customer base that believes in independent luxury. Seeing someone influential wear the product is incredible, but seeing a regular customer come back for their second, third or fourth pair means just as much to me because it proves we’ve built more than hype.

My entrepreneurial journey also extends beyond one company. I’ve been involved in building and co-founding multiple brands, and every experience has reinforced the same lesson: entrepreneurship looks glamorous after something works, but the building stage is anything but glamorous. I know what it is to build when the numbers are negative, to reinvest when it would be easier to quit, to hear “no,” to figure things out without the resources of a major company, and still show up the next day believing the vision is bigger than the current circumstances.

Today, KLEECHI is entering a different chapter. I’m taking everything I learned by being the designer, founder and sales engine and turning it into infrastructure — larger production, stronger distribution, retail and wholesale partnerships, media, collaborations and experiences around the brand.

I didn’t start with access. I started with a product, a point of view and the willingness to talk to enough people until the market started talking back.

That’s really my story: I built the proof before I had the platform. Now I’m building the platform around the proof.

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?
Absolutely not. Building KLEECHI has probably taught me more through adversity than success.

One of the biggest challenges has been building a luxury company without the infrastructure that established brands have. For a long time, I was the designer, salesperson, marketer, customer-service department, fulfillment team and strategist at the same time. When inventory was limited, sales were limited. When production was delayed, I had to face the customers. When the company needed cash, I had to go create it.

Cash flow has been one of the biggest lessons. In fashion, growth costs money before it makes money. Manufacturing, inventory, packaging, shipping, marketing and events all require capital, and as an independent founder you don’t always have the luxury of waiting until conditions are perfect. There have been moments when demand was stronger than the inventory I had available, and moments when I had to sell what was in front of me to finance what I knew the company could become.

I’ve also had to learn the difference between having a great product and building a great company. A product can get attention. A company needs systems, distribution, financial discipline, consistency and the ability to deliver repeatedly.

There have been plenty of no’s, mistakes, production issues, financial pressure and moments where quitting would have been easier. But every difficult season forced me to become a better operator.

KLEECHI wasn’t built under perfect circumstances. It was built while I was figuring things out in real time. That’s part of why I’m so protective of what we’ve created. I know exactly what it cost to get here.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My professional career has always had two sides to it: healthcare and sales.

I currently work in the hospital/medical field while simultaneously building KLEECHI, but sales has been a part of who I am for most of my adult life. Even while I was in college, I worked as a server, and over the years I’ve worked in automotive sales and other customer-facing sales environments. I’ve always been naturally charismatic, comfortable talking to people and fascinated by the art of persuasion.

I learned early that great sales isn’t about pressuring someone. It’s about understanding people—what they value, what they’re hesitant about, what makes them feel confident and how to communicate value in a way that actually resonates with them.

That background became one of my biggest advantages when I started KLEECHI. I didn’t come into entrepreneurship afraid to sell. I could approach someone, start a conversation, understand their style, put a frame on their face and explain why the product was worth the investment. I learned how to turn strangers into customers and customers into people who genuinely advocate for the brand.

At the same time, I’ve continued working in healthcare while building the company. A lot of people see the finished product, the events, celebrity placements and growth of KLEECHI without realizing that much of it has been built around a full-time work schedule.

Looking back, the different parts of my career actually make sense together. Healthcare taught me responsibility, discipline and how to work with people from every background. My sales career taught me persuasion, relationship-building and how to close. Entrepreneurship forced me to combine all of it.

Now I’m applying those skills to something I own. I’m not just selling someone else’s product anymore—I’m building, positioning and selling something that started as an idea in my own head and became KLEECHI.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I think what would surprise people most is how much of KLEECHI has been built through actual human interaction.

People see a luxury eyewear company and assume there was some sophisticated digital strategy behind it from day one. In reality, I became the sales engine. I learned how to walk into a room, start a conversation with a stranger, put a pair of frames on their face and turn that interaction into a customer.

Hundreds of frames later, I still believe in that.

I’m naturally very analytical about people. I pay attention to what they wear, what they respond to, what makes them hesitate and what makes them feel confident. A lot of what I know about branding didn’t come from a textbook. It came from selling the product face-to-face and listening.

That may be the least glamorous part of my story, but it’s probably my biggest advantage. Before I ever had the platform I wanted, I learned how to create demand without one.

Pricing:

• 250.00
• 275.00
• 475.00
• 500.00
• 650.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Kleechi.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/officialkleechi