Tannereye Ltd was established in 1976 by Peter and Maureen Leunes on Prince Edward Island and was the first company to adhere very thin leather to optical frames, using a process that immersed the plastic frame into an acetone solution that caused the plastic surface to become activated as an adhesive to which the leather would permanently adhere. Tannereye is the first company in the world to produce leather covered sunglasses.
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History
Ralph Lauren's Polo was one of the first companies retail this product. The company's major client for many years was Bausch & Lomb, where leather was applied to Wayfarers and Aviator frames. In 22 years, Tannereye produced over five million leather covered glasses. In the later years of the company also produced leather appliques on apparel, screens and leather covered sculptures.
Tannereye was a major Charlottetown employer through the 1980s because of the steady Bausch & Lomb orders, but dependence on a single product for revenue was a challenge for long term stability. To address this, Peter Leunes, with employees Frank Hale and Carl Drew, developed and marketed new products mostly in the decorative accessory line.
Closure
The Leunes family eventually sold their interests in the company to a group of employees who developed the new products further and who operated it successfully in areas of leather covered sculptures for several years. Loss of the annual order from Bausch & Lomb, and the arrival of new competitors in Japan eroded the financial stability which the company had enjoyed and the company was closed.