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! 

Choosing Frames For Our Collection

We always enjoy choosing frames for the new season. Some eyewear brands bring out several capsule collections per year, whilst others change or update their styles just once a year. We get lots of visits from different brand representatives each year - and while most brands have websites, it’s a necessity to see the frames in person so we can check the quality and compare them to the others in the practice. We try to make sure that we try on each style and take the time to put ourselves in our customer’s shoes before we settle on the frames we know they will love.

We recently had the first of our twice yearly visit from Etnia Barcelona rep, Mark. As it's one of our favorite brands, when choosing frames from this collection we are like children in a sweet shop! The range is huge and the frames are so colourful and diverse. Also, for the first time, we were choosing from their new sunglasses range, too, which we were more than a little excited about!
The European brands tend to be the trendsetters, so it’s not surprising that Etnia Barcelona is on the pulse of what’s hot in the eyewear world.

The vogue for acetate frames is going nowhere, with this new collection, we are still seeing lots of plastic frames in different shapes. 50’s and 60’s styles are featuring massively, with the cat eye style in the lead.We are also seeing loads of twists on the classic, with bolder tortoise shell patterns with pops of chocolate box colours.

Their new capsule collection is called ‘Art Flowers’, (right down my street) a range of frames adorned with a delicate abstract print, born from the floral fashion trend.

When the sun shines, what’s hot is their limited edition Wild Love In Africa sunglasses, taking inspiration from the bright colours and animal prints of Africa.

The ophthalmic range is fully stocked in the practice now, with the sunglasses trickling in over the whole Summer, so there will always be something new to see, pop in any time for a look at the range.

Watch this space for an exciting new collection this Autumn.....we can't wait to see whats in store for this innovative brand!