Adventures in Munich (Part 2)

If you havn't read part one of our adventures in Munich.....go and read what we got up to on our first day...........done that?Ok.....lets continue the story.

We stayed at the very convenient BOLD hotel in Munich. This hotel very much appealed to my own interior decor sensibilities. It was bright, modern and clean, with funky furniture.
As we were so tired after our long first day, we chose to grab a bite to eat at the hotel before an early night.......not the finest dining experience we have ever had! There was a very strange moment when a rice pudding was served up with a caramel top instead of the creme brulee! Perhaps we can put this down to a language barrier?Not sure, but needless to say we stuck to the breakfast buffet after that, which was VERY good!

Day 2 of the tradeshow was another busy one. We had an early appointment with LINDBERG. Anyone well versed in the world of optics will know that LINDBERG are a bit special. They are, perhaps, most famous for their rimless styles, however their collection is so much more than just rimless. We were blown away by the frames! We were invited to sit down to view the collection (which is huge, and has sub-collections) and instructed to wear gloves as we handled the frames!!
We have picked a good selection of amazing styles, from their 'Spirit', 'Acetanium' and 'Strip' collections. These bad boys have just landed this week, come in and have a peek, they have been worth the wait!

So after LINDBERG, we viewed one other collection, which we are playing close to our chests for now. They won't arrive until September or October and so, we have a bit of a wait for these......but I will admit, they are a brand that we have been lusting over for more than a year. I'm so glad we decided to order them, but we want to keep it a surprise for now....!

Intrigued???So you should be!! ;)

Besides our first questionable experience with the Munich food, we did have a really good dinner and brunch in the city on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. I'm going to leave that to another post, which I won't leave as long in between this time!But just in case your going to Munich anytime soon, we will post about the hotel and the restaurants we liked.

Thanks for reading, guys, hope your excited for our new frames.....a few of them have already landed!

Adventures in Munich (Part 1)

Hi Friends!
We are back from Opti-Munich and we wanted to tell you guys all about our  adventures!  Have you got a cuppa in front of you?Ok, great......!

Our flight from Dublin on Friday morning was at 8am, so we arrived in Munich bright and early, grabbed a coffee and took the shuttle bus directly to the tradeshow....that's dedication for you!
As you would expect from our German friends, the tradeshow was super well organised, so they had a left luggage facility for anyone travelling. We imagined alot of European guests would have flown in and out the same day!

The venue itself was HUGE, even though they say this is one of the smaller of the 'big' European tradeshows. The whole event spanned over 4 massive halls each bigger than the size of a football field (think the RDS as each hall!), with smaller stands in corridors in between. Each hall was dedicated to either frames, optical equipment, lens companies or accessories. This makes it sound like it was easy to find where everything was...and it was...it was just so overwhelming! The whole place was like a maze, I think we felt a little like were in one of those casinos where your not sure what time of day it is! Every time you turn a corner looking for the bathrooms or the exit, there is something else that catches your attention and makes you stay and look just another half hour!

Each hall had a few cafes where you could grab a snack or a coffee, but nearly every brand had either a bar or a little cafe of their own, serving beers, champagne and little bites. Some were so elaborate, we even spotted an airstream and a full sized school bus! - Check me out....I'm nearly the same size as it! ;)

So...Friday, we had made appointments to see two brands in particular. The first stop was with a French brand called 'Anne et Valentin'. We. were. blown. away. by this brand! These frames are beautiful. Handmade and so unusual, but yet totally wearable. There is a mixture of acetate frames with intricate detailing and metal frames with amazing colours and acetate mounts. They are really stunning we cannot wait for you guys to see them. We will be taking delivery in April......but in the meantime - here's a sneak peek...

Yup...amazing, right? This one is largely for the girls, but they have a small collection of men's frames also, so we didn't leave anyone out. :)

By now it was time to focus on our boys...!Our next appointment was with Danish brand 'Kilsgaard'.This brand has both a male and female collection, but we have a gap for something different in our men's collection, so we were focusing solely on them. 

In my opinion, the best word to describe Kilsgaard frames are 'architectural'. They are understated but yet meticulously designed, light, strong and modern with clean lines and matte colours. We think they will go down a treat.

We are expecting these to arrive in early March and they will be a great addition to our shelves!

What do you guys think....have we wet your appetite for our new brands?

So, we have alot more to tell you guys about the following few days in Munich. Stay tuned for part 2! 

We are off to Munich!

We are so excited to be going to our first ever Optical tradeshow in Europe, and it happens to be one of the biggest!!

Opti-Munich exhibits over 525 representitives from leading eyewear brands the world over.
We have a gap in our collection for some new brands and will be scouting exciting new exclusive ranges to add to our shelves this coming Spring and Summer.
Sometimes we will be interested in a brand that may not have representation in Ireland or England, and so visiting a tradeshow such as Opti gives us the chance to see whole collections side by side, that we may never otherwise get the chance to see in person.
As you know, we are really picky about how we choose our frames, so this means we can try styles on, feel the quality and see the true colours that browsing on a web catalogue just can't compete with!

So we are off this Friday and Saturday, 15th & 16th,  to immerse ourselves in all things optical.....can't wait!
We will have plenty of pictures and stories to share when we return.....and also a BIG reveal!.....Exciting times ahead!