About Bana

 

 

 Behind BANA

The creative, festive and colorful universe of French designer Tanya for decades held the nickname Tanyabanana. Bana, for short, upheld that creativity, adding uniqueness, wanderlust and a whole lot of flowers to people’s lives across the globe - from Coachella, to the islands of Greece.

This kind of creativity isn’t new to the architect-turned-entrepreneur, who began exploring art since her earliest days. What started with exploring her creativity, ended with her own line of sunglasses, as fast as it was unexpected. And so, the adventure began.

A word from Tanya:
At the time, I was making all sorts of jewellery with old buttons my grandma gave me. Necklaces, bracelets, rings..you name it! I had exploited all materials in my studio and needed more objects to custom. On my table, a very old pair of small round sunnies was sitting for a while. I saw it and thought "why not?". So I started decorating it, with the same old buttons, and the result was A-MA-ZING!! It was the most vintagy chic object I had ever made, and I was so happy. At the time, I was a final year student in architecture and had to finish my semester in order to be an official architect. So the commercial fibre wasn't resonating in me at the moment. Only 2 months later, when the summer approached, and numerous beach trips were happening, my sunnies created lots of reactions, which made me think it could actually be a good idea to start and sell them. Though it was really hard for me to sell my creations - because they are made with so much passion and time - at first I was hesitant. I asked for my friend for advices, as she is a designer attending a creative market that was happening in 8 days, she offered me to join on her booth and sell my sunglasses. It took me 8 days to create the whole brand! From the name, to the visual identity, the sunglasses different collections (they were 50 at the time), the pouches, the labels, the gifts bags, flyers, cards, social medias, and finally, all the exhibition displays. 8 days in which I did not sleep, finishing on a very promising event on June 8th 2014, where I sold over 30 pairs in 5 days. From that point on, I understood I was at a beginning of a wonderful adventure.

The story

BANA is best known for its boho chic style, but our philosophy goes beyond a single style.
We believe in embracing everyone’s uniqueness, and not letting the world make choices for you.

Always follow your heart, and what is good for you, and that is, staying true to yourself.
Give everything you have but not pieces of yourself, those who cannot see why you made these decisions may one day understand you.
But you won’t wait.
In the meantime, you’ll be riding life in the vehicle of your heart, living, first and foremost for yourself. Then radiating that desire for freedom onto others around you.

Our sunglasses and accessories reflect our beliefs. They change constantly, with new seasons, destinations, and desires for creations being the only constant - all else, changes as we experience more freedom!

Design and material

We use ceramic, resin, fabric, pearls, and metal cast in gold to design our flowers. The fabric pouches are handmade, offering optimal protection to every piece.

All pairs are unique and handmade, with love. BANA Sunglasses was born in Beirut in June 2014, then moved back home to Nice, then Sydney for a year, Tahiti for an other year, and San Francisco for an other year. Today, Tanya is settled in Dubai, bringing all of her latest creations back to the Arab world! 

Habibis, can't wait to meet all of you !