The Upswing Spotlight: Nathan Resnick of Azula Watches

When fashion, commerce, and positive social change come together, beautiful things happen. One such thing is Azula. Azula is fabric faced watch brand whose mission can be eloquently stated in one sentence, “Buy A Watch Change A Life.”

We sat down with 20-year-old entrepreneur Nathan Resnick and asked him to tell us more about the socially responsible brand and their Kickstarter campaign.

Nathan Resnick of Azula Watches

What does Azula mean?

“Azul” means blue in Spanish. We added the “a” at the end to give it some spice.

How long have you been working on Azula?

We developed the concept for Azula in July. I had just gotten back from a trip to Asia, sourcing watches and sunglasses for Yes Man. Shelby, our philanthropy chair, had just spent two months teaching kindergarten in the Dominican Republic. When Shelby and I met up back in San Diego, I had the idea for fabric faced watches buzzing in my head. Shelby was seeking a way to give back to the underprivileged children she had just taught so we combined the two and each one of our watches supports a child in need, providing them with food, water, and shelter.

What caused you to come up with the fabric-faced design?

I noticed that most watch faces are printed, just like your home printer so while thinking of ways to make watches different, I thought of putting fabric on a watch face. I know other companies that use wood, stone, and even marble on a watch face, but had never seen fabric used.

How about the social impact aspect?

The social impact aspect of Azula stemmed from our passion to give back to children in need. When Shelby was in the Dominican Republic, she taught children that would wear the same clothes for a month and barely have enough to eat. We want to give back to those that don’t have the joyful childhood we did. As we grow our watch line, we hope to expand the number of children we can support.

We also found inspiration from TOMS shoes. The shoe company took off with their One For One model, which gives back a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair of shoes that is bought. Though we couldn’t incorporate that exact model because giving a watch away wouldn’t be beneficial to someone in need, we can pair a watch with an underprivileged child to help provide them with food, water, and shelter.

How would you describe your role at Azula?

I’d say I’m the glue to the team at Azula. I try to keep everyone on track for our launch. I also focus on product management, as one of my favorite aspects of Azula is our supply chain. Sourcing fabrics from around the world is no easy task and often involves some language barriers but connecting with people from other cultures is awesome.

What is your greatest challenge with launching Azula?

Our greatest challenge before launch is spreading the word about what we’re doing. Taking a second to simply share Azula on Facebook or Twitter can really go a long way. After launch, our focus will turn towards doing everything we can to make our customers happy while ensuring the production of our watches goes smoothly. There can be many complications with production, but the relationships we have with our suppliers are rock-hard.

What were some of the most crucial aspects of building Azula?

The hardest part of Azula has been dialing in our supply chain. We source fabrics from around the world so we often encounter language barriers and culture differences. Entrepreneurs often overlook how they are going to actually produce their products. Figuring this out is one of the most important parts of a business.

Where do you see Azula in 3 years?

In 3 years I see Azula having a significant impact on the lives of underprivileged children across the world. By supporting a child with each one of our watches, we strive to raise awareness to the struggles these children have.

We see our watches being sold in retailers across the world and see our brand expanding to include other products like t-shirts. Each one of our products will represent a different child so as we grow our product line, we will expand the number of children we can support.

Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Without your support, Azula can’t become a reality. We are live on Kickstarter and won’t receive any money unless we reach our funding goal. Every dollar counts and simply actions like sharing Azula on Facebook really goes a long way. Please take a second to check out our page on Kickstarter and click the Facebook + Twitter share buttons below our video.

You can find Azula’s Kickstarter campaign by clicking here.