Road trip: NY eyewear startup Warby Parker is taking its mobile showroom to 9 cities in 6 months

Warby Parker, the social good startup making waves in the custom eyewear space is looking for far more on-ground exposure than its recently opened SoHo showroom can offer. The company is going on a road trip across the US, traveling in a renovated, retrofitted school bus that’s apparently been re-imagined as a professor’s library; complete with leather couches, wood paneling, vintage books and more.

Being a mobile showroom, Warby Parker says the bus will feature a team of eyewear stylists and a full selection of Warby Parker optical and sunwear frames, and a few capsule collections.

With the road trip in place, Warby Parker is additionally seeking brand ambassadors in all 9 cities they’re visiting. So if you’re a fan of vintage eyewear and want to win free glasses for a year, submit a 1 minute video on the contest’s Facebook page here.

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The reasoning behind the trip’s Facebook content, according to Director of Social Media Jen Rubio:

We launched this campaign to find the biggest Warby Parker fan in each of the cities we’ll be visiting. Any time we travel, we get tons of tweets and suggestions from our customers on things to do and places to see in their cities. Who better to show us around during the Warby Parker Class Trip than the customers who know the Warby Parker lifestyle? We’re excited to give them a chance to officially rep Warby Parker in their hometowns and be part of the team for a weekend.

More than anything, this move shows what an interesting and conflicted space ecommerce is, where online-only brands are growing wildly, but still feel the need to establish a physical presence. Given how successful the company has been so far, this is definitely telling.

For more on Warby Parker, maker sure to check out Warby Barker: Eyewear for dogs, and take a more serious look at how the company’s social good vision.