In a global market long shaped by European heritage and industrial efficiency, LAPIMA stands as a quiet countercurrent a Brazilian atelier in Campinas where frames are shaped by hand, light, and intuition. Founded by Gisela Negrão Assis and Gustavo Assis, the brand has built an international cult following not through hype or speed, but through a sculptural sensibility rooted in place, craft, and emotional terrain.
For Curated Optics, they open up about origins, process, and the philosophy behind one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary eyewear.
Where Light and Landscape Become Design
“Brazil offers a naturally vibrant palette, with the deep greens of the Atlantic Forest, earthy tones from the countryside, expansive blues and a warm light that softens everything it touches,” they explain. “Campinas gave us a visual vocabulary that remains at the origin of everything we create.”
Growing up between nature and modernist architecture created an intuitive understanding of curves, balance, and volume. These dualities urban and organic, structural and fluid surface in every LAPIMA silhouette.
Craft as a Form of Integrity
Inside LAPIMA’s atelier, more than 30 stages of making unfold under one roof, a scale of care that sets the brand apart. The atelier is also a school training artisans from the ground up.
“Our atelier in Campinas is the heart of Lapima. It is where we train our artisans from the very beginning… there is beauty in this process because it protects the creative truth at the origin of the brand.”
This measured pace could clash with global distribution, but LAPIMA has built a network of retailers who understand and celebrate the slow rhythm.
“Every delivery is received almost like a work of art.”
Longevity as a Design Principle
In a world addicted to novelty, LAPIMA’s forms lean into permanence.
“Longevity begins with form. We seek sculptures… gestures that carry truth from the first line. We do not design from trends but from structures that endure.”
Clients often return to build personal collections, drawn to the quiet continuity of the shapes.
“We communicate longevity simply by being faithful to the process. Each piece is born to cross years.”
The Dialogue Between Machines and Hands
LAPIMA uses thick Italian acetate not for luxury’s sake, but because it allows sculpting literally.
“Technology is the first gesture… it helps us carve the acetate with precision. Then the hands take over.” Artisans refine, soften, and reveal the tactile life inside each frame.
“Technology sculpts. The hands reveal the soul.” This duality mirrors the Brazilian condition the founders describe: always moving between precision and intuition.
Scaling Without Losing the Centre
Despite international demand, LAPIMA has remained entirely independent.
“Until now, Lapima has been built entirely by the two of us. This involvement gives us creative independence.”
Growth, for them, is not a race. “We choose to grow slowly, consciously and sustainably… every step is deliberate.”
That independence protects what they call their “internal pulse” the singular sensibility that makes LAPIMA unmistakable.
A Visual Identity Rooted in Emotion
Colour, volume, and texture are often cited as LAPIMA’s signature. All three come directly from lived Brazilian experience.
“Colour comes from the deep, layered greens of the Atlantic Forest. Texture comes from the large leaves… volume comes from our soft, rounded geography.”
But beneath that, there is feeling. “The emotional link is affection… the discreet sensuality of Brazil, the joy and beauty of our people.”
This is the Brazil they show the world not the stereotypes, but the subtle, cultivated one they inhabit.
The LAPIMA Mindset
For the founders, their customer is defined less by demographic and more by sensibility.
“The Lapima person moves. They travel, observe, visit museums, love dance and body, listen to classical music and rock’n’roll. They choose with intention.” Above all, they recognize authenticity. “They feel when an object has soul.”
Sustainability as Human Impact
Beyond producing in small quantities and avoiding excess, LAPIMA ties sustainability to community.
“We run an internal school that trains artisans from the local community… today dozens of women build their careers inside our atelier.”
For them, durability is the most honest form of sustainability: “A frame designed to last respects the material and the world.”
Brazilian Creativity Without the Clichés
LAPIMA’s aesthetic stands apart precisely because it does not imitate dominant European visual codes.
“Our sophistication comes from another landscape… from Brazilian design, sculptural curves, the depth of our colours, the way light shapes nature and cities.”
Their mission is to represent Brazil with depth: “We avoid stereotypes. We reveal the Brazil we truly see.”
What Comes Next
As the brand grows, the founders see natural expansion new materials, new conversations with architecture and art but without rushing.
“The future of Lapima will be built with the same consciousness and intention that shaped its beginning.”
They envision a brand that continues to evolve, always with precision, always with emotional honesty.
“We want to take the brand where it deserves to go, without losing the essence that brought us here.”
LAPIMA’s story is ultimately one of clarity of vision, of intention, and of a deeply rooted creative identity that refuses to be diluted by speed or convention. From the light-soaked landscapes of Campinas to the hands of local artisans shaping each curve, the brand proves that true luxury emerges from depth, not acceleration.
As Gisela and Gustavo continue to refine their sculptural language, they remain anchored in the principles that defined their beginning: independence, craftsmanship, and a distinctly Brazilian sophistication that enriches the global eyewear landscape. LAPIMA’s future may unfold in new materials, new collaborations, and new dialogues, but its essence stays unwavering objects crafted with honesty, built to last, and born from a place of genuine artistic intention.
