Forty years ago this month, Gai Gherardi and Barbara McReynolds opened an optical shop on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles – l.a. Eyeworks. Four decades later, the pioneering efforts and energy of Gherardi and McReynolds have catapulted l.a. Eyeworks into an international and influential house of eyewear design.
The anniversary year kicks off with a window campaign that will adorn the facades of more than eighty optical retailers in seven countries. Two signboards feature custom graphic designs with the messages: ‘Raise your Glasses’ and ‘Uncensored Visions since 1979’ floating above the brand’s logo. Created by L.A. based artist Nina Palomba, the design is one of numerous multidisciplinary artists and inspiring personalities with whom l.a. Eyeworks has partnered for creative marketing and photos during forty years. For the Fall 2019 portrait campaign, l.a. Eyeworks is working with three visionary photographers who will creatively express Gherardi and McReynolds’s philosophy, cementing their inspiration: “the ever-changing diverse landscape of faces.” Among the brands most famous catchphrases is: ‘A face is like a work of art. It deserves a great frame.’
In all their eyewear designs, Gherardi and McReynolds display an innate passion for colour and shape, which has enamoured opticians worldwide throughout the years. Deirdre McNally at Optica Dublin noted: “We truly admire and have fallen in love all over again with l.a. Eyeworks. They have a magic to understand eyewear.” The l.a. Eyeworks innovative magic continues to expand with exemplary designs that manifest originality, diligence and dedication, as well as passion and perseverance, that the founders have infused into their iconic brand. Congratulations to l.a. Eyeworks on this memorable occasion of their 40th Anniversary. www.laeyeworks.com JG
