Designer of the Month

RockOptika

1st May 2012 On Thursday I visited Hastings, not so far from home, and a place that is full of surprises, from great food to vintage stores to art… I was visiting designer Tom Herrington at his optical shop by the sea! I love this little place and before I knew that it was Tom’s shop, the vintage vespa in the window had already caught my eye…

Tom greets me in ’60s French beret, black polo neck and his oversized Antibes sunglasses. First we take a look around the store which stocks collections you might not expect to find down here out of London, from Oliver Goldsmith to Kirk Originals, and people travel to find him…he loves to break the mould in his choices which is always refreshing.

A similar uniqueness is there at the heart of his own label, RockOptika, which he launched in Paris last September, after 15 years working with other independent eyewear labels in London. The present collection includes 10 very classy designs, 5 for girls and 5 for guys, including punk tortoiseshells (so cool!) and a favourite for me, a small round shape that fits beautifully on my narrow face. I also love the elegant and distinctive French lace.

Tom explains: “My frames are very nicely put together, produced in Italian acetate, and made in one of the traditional workshops in the Jura region of France. I go out there to see them being made, to check on every detail, from the width of the bridge to the final finish. The  collection is strong on design, and I work for hours sketching from my imagination….I like the inspiration I get from the 1960s, sci-fi..I wanted strong retro but with a really modern feel. I use a lot of architectural angles which means the frames are quite flat, I think that’s interesting. ”

RockOptika

Antibes in lace by RockOptika

And the colours? ”Well with very strong angles and very strong shapes, I have used classic colours…and that’s where I am trying to carve my niche. I like bordeaux and olive for guys who tend to be quite conservative in their colour choices. And I enjoy tortoisehell which is everywhere, but I think it works and has a lovely classic look, it is so stylish.

Do you follow trends? “There is a fine balance between following trends and doing something that is interesting. So I have classic tortoiseshell but I have added a punk tortoise; and I’ve used lace because it is trendy, but I’ve not used a predictable lace, it’s this incredible blue and gold, it’s wicked. In eyewear, you have to keep an eye on fashion because it drives the industry forward, but I like to do this with my own take on it.”

Asked to comment on what is coming up for next season, Tom tells me about his plans for a new campaign, some very special limited materials he has put away in preparation for the collection, and he alludes to some unique colour combinations…I am hoping for a preview myself in September!

RockOptika sunglasses and spectacles are available at Wolf & Badger, Notting Hill, London (www.wolfandbadger.com), McClintock, Covent Garden, London (www.mcclintock-eyewear.co.uk) and The Optical Lounge, Hastings.  CN www.rockoptika.co.uk

Eyewear Design is a Family Affair

1st March 2012 “We are known for colour, and love experimenting with colour, cat eye shapes, and mostly feminine designs,” says Dixie Klein, daughter of Francis Klein, the Parisian creator with an international clientele. “My father was twenty-two years old when he opened his shop in the 1970′s, and he was disappointed with the frame choices, so he decided to create his own designs. We’ve always been a family business – my mother and my sister Betty are involved too. I remember being about ten years old, and Betty and I were helping to tint lenses in our garage! From the very beginning, our concept has always been that frames are a fashion accessory. We used to have fashion shows at Galeries Lafayette – the Parisian department store.”

Creative colouration and design from Francis Klein

In 2002, the Klein’s moved the boutique location in the smart 7th arrondissement, to an even more historical part of Paris – the heart of St. Germain de Pres, just steps away from Aux Café Deux Magots, the favourite haunt of literary luminaries Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Satre. On display in the boutique is a vast selection of their styles – past and present. Francis Klein glasses always provide an element of surprise – it could be an unexpected colour combination, an innovative touch in the frame shape, a particularly distinctive accent. They perform magic with acetate – they make all their own acetate, and the frames are handmade in France – truly a 100% French product. “We are inspired by everything, says Dixie, “certainly our travels, but particularly the 1970′s; we are loyal to our image. We are also passionate about everything we do, and not only the family, but our staff is involved in submitting design ideas – we have a good team.” www.francisklein.com JG

Architectural Influences by Pascal Jaulent

1st January 2012 A timid winter sun is attempting to flow into the large windows that surround the spacious offices of Face à Face in Paris, where I meet Pascal Jaulent, President and Art Director. He greets me with a warm smile, much brighter than the reluctant winter sun. Jaulent is one of the founders who created Face à Face Eyewear in 1995 (Nadine Roth is Vice President and Marketing Director; designer Alyson Magee left to create her own company.) “What is so interesting about the past fifteen years, is the way that business has evolved. France, America and Canada are our most important markets, then Germany, and Great Britain, which is surprisingly close to the French outlook. Then there is Austria, with its tradition of frame manufacturing, and it has curiosity and enthusiasm – very different than the German market. They speak the same language, but it is a different culture. What is fascinating are the developing markets – Brazil, China, Russia.

“I have a financial background, and it has morphed into design, although I have always loved architecture. That is something that I shared with Alyson Magee. The basic principle of Face à Face has always been architecture, and now we also combine fashion with shapes and colours – it is very artful. When designing frames, it is important to pay attention to design, but also fashion trends. Frames are a personal object or accessory that has to be connected to fashion trends.

Senso by Face à Face

“Fashion moves quite rapidly and we have to adapt. We see a big difference in the acceptance of frames – people want more exclusive, artful designs. My work now is concentrated on the eyebrows as sculptures. I want to create bold and different. It’s a way to express and communicate the collection, and to stay avant garde. Women, especially, want to be à la mode, and up to date. My ideas come from everywhere. Sometimes I see a piece of furniture, like the Dali Sofa, which was the inspiration for the “Lips” sunglasses.”

Jaulent’s latest collection includes sunglasses in acetate and elegant fabrics, including silk and cotton. The Royal Stewart Collection, featuring the signature tartan of the House of Stewart, is a throwback to the 1970′s. “Tartan has rich decorative elements: it’s not new, but it’s timeless. We’ve had lots of global interest in this collection. I would also like to work in rubber and concrete (materials that relate to Jaulent’s inherent love of architecture) and use unexpected materials. I like to play with light, and use metallic inserts. Nature inspires me – leaves and petals.

Calas by Face à Face

“There are many more collections now than a few years ago. Frames are a personal expression, and the attention that people are paying to frames is a growing, positive trend. I want customers to say ‘this is beautiful, and my eyes smile’. I like to make people look beautiful in their glasses.” www.faceaface-paris.com JG

Tymeo by Face à Face

Fritz Frames

1st November 2011 Friedrich Schwarz, a boat builder by trade, is the designer behind Fritz Frames, a relatively new Australian eyewear label specialising in wood spectacles and sunglasses. Eyestylist.com interviewed Friedrich at Silmo, where the company was exhibiting for the first time.

“I am working with a composite timber material, which contains timber with a fibre reinforcement between every layer. We started the company about one and a half years ago, but of course the development for the product began much earlier. I have been wearing my own hand-built  frames for some years. I set up the company with Ivo den Uijl. We were looking at making something together, and we eventually decided to go into frame design. I am a boat builder and a sports enthusiast. As a young guy I was skateboarding and sailing. I got my first pair of glasses at the age of 16, and I wasn’t very familiar with how to look after my specs so I broke them fairly frequently. Then I started to experiment with the lenses and I made full carbon fibre frames without hinges.

Aviator by Fritz Frames

Ever since then, I have worn my own glasses, and made glasses for my friends and family. My first frames were extremely durable and worked very well in terms of their resistance and wear and this is what we have carried through into the collections today.”

What are your ambitions with the brand this season? “We want to go into Europe. We are having a good reaction to our frames in this part of the world. The perception of timber for eyewear is, for some people, a bit negative; people think it might be too breakable or difficult to adjust and fit the lenses, but this is no longer the case. We have addressed all these problems, and we have really taken care with these issues through the development of the product…by using the fibre to reinforce the structure, we have managed to give added strength to the frame. I have managed to lift myself up from the floor on a frame for a photo shoot, believe it or not! For a perfect finish, we have used a hard coating on our frames to ensure they are water-proof and protected from other materials such as sun creams and make-up.

NorWester by Fritz Frames

How did you achieve the unusual glossy finish? “That is another special point. We have developed this finish, and it’s quite different from other wood products. The finish is both aesthetic and a means to ensure the frame will last….for 10 or 15 years. It is the same with the hinge, we have developed a very robust spring hinge that you can bend up and down and in and out.

You produce the frames in a studio in Australia? “Yes in a workshop. We have just four of us in there….we are doing a lot of work by hand; it is time-consuming, painstaking work, but we are able to ensure a very high level of quality and finish. It’s exciting seeing the results.”

Churada by Fritz Frames

Fritz Frames won the Award of Excellence in the Sunglasses Category at the Sydney trade fair ODMA for their sunglass style Churada.

www.fritzframes.com

L.G.R. Sunglasses

I spoke with Luca Gnecchi Ruscone over the summer by phone, and was immediately struck by his genuine enthusiasm for eyewear design, and fascination for the rediscovery of lost craftsmanship.

” In 2002, while I was accompanying by grandfather on a trip to Eritrea, I made a discovery which changed my life, and has brought me to this point with the brand L.G.R. which is really just at the beginning, we have so much more to tell.

My grandfather had lived in Eritrea for 40 years; he was a war photographer and after the war ended he decided to stay in Eritrea, and opened four photographic shop which became known as Foto Ottica Bini. He became a representative for Leika and other brands like Kodak. He then started importing frames and lenses, but not long after he became a shoe manufacturer for the local market. The shops became his second business. In 1974, with the revolution he had to leave and he lost everything. Quite amazingly, in 2000 the government called my grandfather to say that he would get some of his properties in Eritrea back, including one of the optical stores and the apartment above it.

I accompanied him on this trip back in 2002 – he was 92 and I was a graduate at the time. I stayed for one month in Asmara, a beautiful place with an incredible climate. I loved the atmosphere. I decided to drive around and visit the coast, but I needed some sunglasses…when I went downstairs in my grandfather’s shop and talked to my father’s colleague Bruno I looked in some closets and I found some incredible frames….and beautiful vintage lenses…Bruno fitted lenses in three pairs of sunglasses for me, and I was really impressed by how beautiful they were. At that point I decided to take 15 pairs back home to show friends and family and, as I was expecting, everybody was amazed that they were so wonderful.”

Orano in crystal brown

Months after this I was still getting emails from people asking for the sunglasses so I had more pairs sent over, and this allowed me to get the capital together to start my own business. By 2007 I started producing my own models. The first four models I produced were based on the original frames I had found in Eritrea…models Asmara, Keren, Massawa and Casablanca.”

Where do you produce your frames, how do you achieve true craftsmanship in the collections you are now designing, and quality that matches up to that of the frames you found in Africa? :”This is another beautiful side of what happened. I was running out of sunglasses, so I asked my grandfather how he thought I could create more with the same beautiful characteristics. He said go to Japan or China where you are living, and you will have them made cheaply and easily there. But I said no, these glasses have a history, they were made in the old way, how things were made in Italy before the economic boom in the 60s. Everything was made by an artisan and sold from the “bottega” in a very different way back then. So, I tracked down the address of the workshop near Prato where the frames were originally made and I just turned up there. An old lady opened the door, I explained who I was, and she said that her husband used to make the sunglasses, but that they had closed 20 years ago. Her husband showed me the warehouse where he used to make the frames, he had all the original machines and he explained the whole process to me. His eyes were shining it was very exciting and  I couldn’t stop thinking about how we might get this working again. Now, just a few years on, we are producing the frames in Florence in this original workshop, and we have opened two other workshops including one in Naples.”

What will you launch for SILMO? “I am planning four new models of sunglasses and two new opticals. We are introducing two new colours of acetate which are very modern in a way, compared to what L.G.R. stands for, its classicism, its heritage. I want to show the market we are not just a vintage or retro brand. I want to show, and I have already given a first taste of this in our RAW LImited Edition which we presented three months ago, that we can achieve some modern and technical creations. We are introducing the polarised Neophan lenses, which offer incredible clarity – it’s a really unique eyewear experience. We are doing these lenses in a greenish blue called aquamarine and a vermillion.”

Does this mean you want to be an innovator in eyewear?  ”No, I want to bring back in some way what has been lost from the past, making no compromise with the price. I want to work towards offering the best quality lenses with the best quality frame at the right price. At the moment the brand is very exclusive as we have a very exclusive distribution, but this is just the beginning…. you have to start from the top and the rest will follow in time. I want to bring back what has been lost from the past to consumerism, we have cut away too many things and we have forgotten so much. I see this from my grandfather of how he speaks, how he eats, how he buys… and I respect so much these past attitudes in life. I want these aspects to be reflected in my glasses.”  CN

www.lgr-sunglasses.com