Win what you wish!

One of our hopes when choosing our location was that we would be involved in an active community and this couldn't have turned out to be truer for Downtown Halifax - it's a great location!  There are many lovely local business all around us, offering great services, people with lots of knowledge and expertise and prices which compare well globally.

We obviously try to choose local suppliers when we can, but what we have also found rewarding is that the local businesses have embraced us in Downtown and we have many good folks from the local Downtown business coming in to see us as well.

Two things that have been particularly fun to be involved in is the I Love Local Hfx movement and the Downtown Halifax Business Commission.  Both have proven to be great resources for information, activities and ideas to help establish our business.

The fun thing about having been involved with both of these organisations is that they too believe in the importance of local businesses and can see why they benefit the local economy and community much more than faceless corporations do.  To keep up to date with all of these we'd really recommend that you follow both organisations on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/downtownhalifax/ and http://twitter.com/ILOVELOCALHFX.

One fun activity happening at the moment is the Downtown Halifax's Win What You Wish competition.  This is a great way for the great products and services available within the Downtown community to be showcased virally.  Getting involved couldn't be simpler and you get the opportunity to win things as well!  All you need to do is take a photograph of an item that you'd like from any of the Downtown businesses, share it with the tag #WinWhatYouWish.  As a side benefit, those people who always claim that your "So hard to shop for" will get a sneaky preview as to what you may actually like.

So ... what are you waiting for?  Get out there, get snapping and get sharing it on the internet!  To get some ideas as to what's out there, have a look at www.winwhatyouwish.ca.

Interviews with a designer ... David Rose - designer at SALT. Optics

At any of the international exhibitions we attend one of the greatest joys is in the discovery of new companies and those hidden gems which you were not aware of before.  SALT. were exactly one of those discoveries, we first met them at New York in April 2013 - Wow!

SALT.'s mission really sums up our feeling about their eyewear perfectly, "SALT. Optics is an independent
lifestyle company that creates premium handcrafted eyewear for people who like simple things made well."  To say that SALT. eyeglasses are made well is a huge understatement, quite simply their quality is unsurpassed.

In Paris this year we met with SALT. again to see their new collections and to find out even more about their company.  Designer David Rose was attending Silmo and it was too good an opportunity to miss, therefore, we are pleased that our next interview in this series is with David.

Here's our interview with David:

 What was your inspiration to become an eyewear designer?

Good question, while my surfing career was coming to an end, I picked up a warehouse gig with OSA (Optical Shop Aspen).  After about a week it was apparent that I was falling in love with eyewear.  I was surrounded by amazing brands and an array of different frame shapes, sizes, materials and applications.  Seeing all this was super positive and for years I just soaked everything up like a sponge.  Then in 2002 I was lucky enough to spend sometime working at Oliver Peoples and handle their production and manufacturing.  Although I never designed anything at OP, it was an exciting time to work closely with Larry and Patty in their design studio to find out whats coming up next, listen to their ideas about fashion and trend, as well as picking up on valuable reference points on why a DBL or temple length should be shortened or lengthened.  Then in 2006 I connected with Salt Optics through and old relationship with Ron Smith and have since been handling all their design and manufacturing.  Its been a fun and exhausting 16 years, but I wouldn't change it for the world.    

Harlan

Do you have an all time favourite frame that you designed?

Probably my favorite frame right now is Harlan.  I love the profile and
the use of Acetate and Titanium.  The vintage "line" detailing on the bridge gives the frame legacy but you can still dress this frame up or down.  I also think the color pallet and matte finishings have some staying power.








Which city would like to travel to next?

Halifax of course!

Is there a particular material that you would like working with or that you would like to work with?

Its so easy to think about using different materials or taking frames elsewhere but I really love the tradition of making hand made acetate frames in Japan.  The touch each craftsperson puts into a frame is so refreshing and authentic. The attention to detail is an investment in quality that will benefit for years to come.  Now that’s something special!

How long does the process take from initial design to finished eyewear?

It takes anywhere from 12-24 months. Some designs kinda just cross through waiting for a slot to open in the collection, like staple piece. While other might be excel excelerated because of fashion or trend.  

What influences do you draw on when creating your ranges?

I love shopping for vintage frames, especially in Japan.  I get a lot of inspiration from old catalogues of frames that aren't really made anymore.  But I feel like I get most my inspiration from experiencing the ocean, mountains and desert around southern & northern California.  Some of the culture that surrounds this area is really cool.    

Thank you David for taking the time to answer those questions.

More information about SALT. Optics can be found out here:

Website

Facebook       Twitter

And of course ... by coming in to Ocean Optometry!

Silmo 2013 - Part 3

Our third and last full day in Paris.  We are up early, keen to maximise our time there and really get the most from the show possible.  We travel to the show using the RER rail system, we feel that we've become quite the experts in this (or at least for the small section of it that we travel), but this morning it is different.  It is a Saturday and instead of being surrounded by smart commuters and office workers we are accompanied by families heading in to the city to enjoy all that Paris has to offer.  Unfortunately, this is not for us, we're headed to a big hall full of eye stuff ... I think I know what we'd rather be doing ... eye stuff!!

Espresso to start the day

We were at the exhibition so early that only the exhibitors were allowed to enter, ah well, time to grab a double espresso and prepare ourselves for the day's appointments.  We were scheduled to meet with Bellinger, Claire Goldsmith and Salt - all wonderful collections which offer something unique and special to the world of eyeglasses.

Finally nine o'clock comes around and we head for our first appointment with Bellinger.  Bellinger has a completely different approach to manufacturing eyewear, the acetate materials they use are completely unique to themselves and they have developed different ways of working the material (almost like kneading dough) which creates lively, flowing and dynamic colour patterns throughout their ranges.  As well as viewing the latest collections it was wonderful to spend some time with Claus Bellinger as he talks us through the various manufacturing processes involved.  It all seems to be a wonderful mix of engineering, science, art and creativity; the thought process applied to each frame in every collection makes sure that Bellinger is anything but a cookie cutter product.

Bellinger demonstration box showing different states of acetate right from cotton!

We now have a little time before meeting with David, one of the designers with Salt, and this window of opportunity makes for an ideal time to go and organise our second find of the show.  Another great eyewear range, which we will again tease you with by not telling you who!  Let's just say that this collection really Rocks!

Salt Optics was next on our agenda and we really do love Salt frames at Ocean Optometry, in fact, not only do we love them but our patients do too.  We have been blown away by the positive feedback about this range and it was great to go and sit with one of their designers and to be able to pass back so many good comments.  It was also great to find out more about David, similar to our own Dr John Wilson, his path into optics has not been the most straight forward.  In saying that, John was never a pro-surfer, like David, so perhaps there the comparison ends!

The new Salt pieces are quite simply beautiful.  We put together a great collection to bring back to Halifax really showcasing the best shapes and colours available.  Then it is an easy switch to our next appointment - Salt Optics had shared some of the Claire Goldsmith stand space!  So we moved one table over and lost ourselves in a world of classic, vintage and incredibly chic eyewear.

Claire is a great character and it was lovely to catch up with her again.

John, Claire Goldsmith, Euan

Given Claire's family history in eyewear design it would be far too easy to talk about things in terms of vintage and retro, however, the collection really would be better as being described as stylish, elegant, modern and classic.  However you want to describe them, these frames are fab!

We are done!

We walk around the show for another few hours, but with the appointments taken care of and some new finds in the bag both of us are starting to flag and the last few days are starting to catch up with us.  We head away from the show.  On our way back to hotel we decide to break the journey at Gare Nord and poke our heads above ground to catch a glimpse of Paris.  It was busy, with plenty of hustle and bustle, but we manage to grab a café and watch the street scene for a while.  A great time to go over all of the sights and experiences of the show for the two of us and consider how we want to bring back our own little bit of Paris to share with Nova Scotia!

Corn roaster on a busy street

One last inspiring sight was a street seller selling corn using a brazier in a shopping cart to roast it.  I couldn't help but think it would be lovely to have some fresh corn from the Valley to cook just in this style!

We knew that our time in Paris was drawing to a close, tomorrow morning we had an early transfer to the airport and then we would have to leave this European city behind.  It had been a great few days, very focused on the business of Ocean Optometry, selecting eyewear, being inspired, gaining knowledge and just generally immersing ourselves in all things eye geekery.  It left us wanting more and perhaps just regretting a little bit that we hadn't managed to do any of the great sights of the city while we were there.

We hope you've enjoyed reading all about our travels and sharing our visit to Silmo Paris.  For videos from the show, you can also visit: https://www.youtube.com/user/OceanOptom.

One final comment ... that night the dinner was French!