Meet Jonathan Brimer of Select Shades Inman Quarter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Brimer.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jonathan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After graduating from Florida State University in 2002, I was fortunate to land a job with Marriott as a front desk manager. My career with Marriott spanned 12 years and included operations leadership roles prior to a jump to sales and marketing in 2006. In sales and marketing, I found a great use for my skill sets and excelled in several roles before ascending to a Senior Account Executive on Marriott’s Global Account Team in 2011. In that role, I made deep connections with high-level meeting & event planners as well as executives from companies such as Apple, LexisNexis, Merck, ADP, Kroger, Abbott, MillerCoors, and Comcast.

In early 2014, my great friend Kristen convinced me to join Sunglass Warehouse, the small 26-unit sunglass store chain where her husband, Jason Pittenger, directed the operations. My role was to launch a new business unit, called Select Shades, that worked with corporations and organizations to deliver customized sunglass fitting experiences as gifts for internal and external VIPs at meetings/events. The move proved to be a success as Select Shades quickly found a niche in the industry and had great success early on.

In late 2015, Sunglass Warehouse was sold to Sunglass Hut International. Rather than go back into the hotel industry, I elected to partner with Jason to continue the Select Shades name as its own organization. We have been growing ever since, with 2 stores opening in Atlanta and a third in Texas in addition to a successful events business. Jason and I make an amazing team and I can’t imagine having a better business partner.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Early on, we experienced challenges in finding a retail space that both fit the type of market that was right for our store AND was willing to “take a chance” on an unknown retailer. It took us going through several challenging setbacks before finding a wonderful “home” for our first store in Atlanta’s Inman Quarter Development. Once we had a signed lease, other challenges included navigating the world of permits, licenses, and other legal procedures that accompany the opening of a physical location.

Personally, the struggle of adjusting to a lifestyle with no income became a challenge. In order to have money to live, I drove UBER for a while and sold my home. It was all worth it though as the benefits of being an entrepreneur outweigh the challenges in my experience.

Please tell us about Select Shades Inman Quarter.
Select Shades is a sunglass store, but it’s a different type of sunglass store than the ones you’ve likely seen before. Our mission is to deliver a bright and memorable experience to everyone that walks through our door.

Select Shades is centered on the experience of our customers. We are a community-oriented environment bringing people together to have their day brightened, learn why sunglasses are so important and find their perfect fit. We believe that people seek and are drawn to and purchase from surroundings that make them feel valued, appreciated as individuals, and that recognizes them as unique.

In addition to our goal of providing an incredible service experience in our locations, you will find:

1. The best overall selection available from iconic, luxury, lifestyle, regional, startup, and unique brands.
2. A concentrated focus on sunglasses that retail for $50 – 125, a range under-served in the current sunglass specialty stores.
3. Store textures and designs that reflect the local communities each location serves.
4. Complimentary in-store wine.
5. Open spaces and soft seating. A place to enjoy your surroundings.

We are most proud of our culture which seeks to find community interactions in everything we do, especially ones in which we have the opportunity to impact individuals or a community for positive change. We encourage our team members to find ways to engage with the communities in need by paying them an allocation for days taken to work within the community on a project or mission they’re passionate about.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Going to Tennessee each year with my family to my dad’s family’s old farmstead. There’s a natural spring that my cousins and siblings and I would dam up using anything we could find. I spent hours in that water one week every summer with my family members creating an “engineering masterpiece” that resulted in the trickling spring turning into a 3-ft deep watering hole.

Contact Info:

• Address: 299 North Highland Avenue NE, Suite J Atlanta, GA 30307
• Website: select-shades.com
• Phone: (404) 963-7310
• Email: info@select-shades.com
• Instagram: selectshadesiq
• Facebook: selectshadesiq
• Twitter: selectshadesiq

Image Credit:
Kelli Price Photography
Holly Jones Photo

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