Boutiques

Enchanting Venetian Eyewear Boutique

1st July 2014 Venice is a fascinating oasis of beauty, history, art, music and eyewear delights! On a recent visit, I had the great pleasure to discover Boudoir – an amazingly chic little boutique with stunning eyewear, plus accesrsories and exquisite perfumes. Proprietor Alessandro De Lorenzo enthuses an ingrained ardour for eyewear, and has assembled a collection of inventive eyewear creators. His handpicked selections include Hapter, Lindberg and Lindberg Precious, Oliver Goldsmith and Claire Goldsmith, and Flippan’Look, among others. There are also capsule eyewear collections by Cesare Cunaccia and Oscar Mamooi. Perfumes by Cristopher Brosious and Meo Fusciuni, and home scents by Villa Buti filter throughout the boutique and create a wonderful ambience. De Lorenzo and his partner devised the original interior, which is an eclectic and charming mix of unusual furniture; beautiful mirrors, flowers and trees. All very natural with a subtle magic – just like Venice!

De Lorenzo observes differences with an optical boutique located in La Serenissimia – Venice’s formal name. “Venice, with less that 6000 residents, isn’t a real city,” he says, “So I deal mostly with tourists, especially from America and other English speaking countries. People from abroad have a more contemporary approach when they choose accessories like glasses. Venice used to be a city and a kind of “Mecca” for special shopping. My goal is to give my contribution to go back to this. I want people to say ‘in Venice, you can really find cool glasses.’ Having the chance to do my work in such a beautiful place pays back every effort. Plus having clients from so many different countries is a bit like travelling myself…”

The boutique is easily reached from San Marco by bobbing along on a Vaporetto and alighting at Ca’Rezzonico, then it’s a short walk to Calle Lunga S. Barnabas, where the eyewear and accessories are incredibly tempting. Eyewear from Boudoir will retain long lasting Venetian memories. www.boudoir.venice.it JG

Photo of Alessandro De Lorenzo exclusively for Eyestylist by Travelonics, LLC

GafaVintage opens boutique

6th June 2014 Online vintage eyewear specialists GafaVintage have a new home in central Madrid, featuring some of the online retailer’s most spectacular designs. Curated by Jorge Portela and Sandy Moragon – founders of the online store, this is a unique spot to try on interesting, wearable iconic shapes and designs from the past.

All the glasses and sunglasses are unworn, and date from the 1950s to the 1990s. Also featured are rare glasses made in Spain in the 60s, as well as classics from the big brands: Dior, Persol, YSL and Ray-Ban.

The new GafaVintage store can be found in central Madrid at Calle Santiago 9, – between the Mercado de San Miguel and the Palacio Real. For online shopping, visit www.gafavintage.com – frame above, Benson & Ashley Kiss British handmade sunglasses, online, 235 euros. CN

Boutique with Italian Charm and Style in Mestre Venice

1st May 2014 A special thank you to Gualtiero Coppe of Coppe+Sid for introducing Eyestylist to his lovely Venetian boutique. Prophilo Company began manufacturing optical frames and sunglasses in 1983, and the boutique opened a year ago – a family enterprise with Mario Di Bello and his wife Rossana, and their son Matteo. They chose Mestre as the location because Mario was born in Venice, and the family now lives on “the mainland”, just a few minutes from the centre of Venice.  “What we wanted,” says Mario, “is that the shop had a new image and that people feel like they are at home when entering the boutique.”

The shop interior is cosy, and oozes charm, warmth and character. “The interior renovation was created by architect Marcadella Alessandra, but overall we worked together, including the furniture research,” explains Mario, “and the wall that appears to be a fresco (above) is a particular wallpaper from Wall & Deco Co., but it really does look like an old fresco.” Vintage carpets, wood accessories and a working fireplace add to the delightful ambience.

“We don’t have many tourists in our shop,” says Mario,”as most of our customers are local people who look for new brands, fashion and something trendy. Together with some products by Prophilo, we have Coppe & Sid, Moscot, Barton Perreira, Conservatoire de Lunettes, Jacques Durand, Claire Goldsmith, Derapage, Etnia Barcelona, Paul Frank, Volte Face, Italia Independent and Spektre. In our shop we look for exclusive brands which give us emotion. Each label has its own space; we do not mix brands together. The trend this season is round shapes in optical designs, mirrored sunglasses, and two-tone gradient lenses. When we present a new eyewear collection, we usually have an event inside and outside the shop with music and cocktails. It’s really beautiful to take time to be together for a break.” www.prophilo.com JG

A new destination for unique eyewear, in Madrid

1st April 2014 Francisco Avilés and Thomas Denizot’s boutique-style shop L’Atelier Óptica is the kind of place that Madrid excels at: a stylish retail space inside a charming old building in one of the city “barrios” or quarters – Barrio de las Letras – well-known for its art galleries and antique shops.

Natural brick walls, cement flooring and neutral colours are complimented by plants, mirrors and bright hanging lights in a fashionable, serene arrangement that the Spanish do so effortlessly. Perfectly coordinated design features include accessories, lighting and furniture by Vitra, Flos, String, Habitat and Norman Copenhagen. Also featured are works by Eames, Konstantin Gcic and Egon Eiermann.

Opened just 4 months ago, the shop highlights fine independent labels including Mykita, Massada, Vue DC and some Eyestylist favourites: British labels, Fan Optics and Claire Goldsmith and from Portugal, Paulino Spectacles.

“Our concept is to combine the experience of choosing a pair of glasses with being in an art space,” explains Avilés, an optometrist and teacher of Contact Lenses and Optometry at the European University of Madrid. “We are really happy with the way it is going here we love that we have been able to bring a new optical concept to the artistic neighbourhood of the city.”

L’Atelier Óptica, C/Moratin 18, Barrio de las Letras, 28014 Madrid. www.latelieroptica.com