Here Kitty, Kitty

Cat-eye frames are making a resurgence and the sunglass market hasn’t escaped. Though many people have been partial to them for their 1950’s sex-kitten feel, the good news is that a lot of designers are modifying them to be more modern and subtle and less like Ann Margaret in the 1964 flick Kitten With a Whip. A cat-eye is also an undoubtedly feminine shape, a refreshing change from the unisex androgyny or clownishly oversized trends of the last few years, and an added bonus is that the slightly upturned outer corners make eyes appear more alert and awake.

Sabrina in Black from Derek Lam	Bellina in Raven from Oliver Peoples
Bude in Night Sky from Oliver Goldsmith	Dark Angel in Raven from Betsey Johnson

The Rise and “Fall” of New York's Artsee Eyewear

The Artsee team: Steven Tham (l), co-owner and Julio Santiago (r), co-owner, flank optician Luiz Aguiar.

NEW YORK—Call it fate, call it kismet, call it destiny, but sometimes the world just conspires to show you the way. That is exactly what happened to Julio Santiago, co-owner of Artsee Eyewear located in New York City’s Meatpacking District.

Six years ago, shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, while leaving his job at Morganthal Frederics and making the decision to move back to his childhood home, Puerto Rico, Santiago had a revelation. “Right before moving to Puerto Rico, I was walking in the Meatpacking District and realized this was going to be the next up-and-coming area in New York. I saw this space after falling by accident in front of it. Call it a coincidence, I call it fate,” said Santiago.

The Artsee Eyewear interior.

Whatever you call it, it is a fall that changed his, and Artsee Eyewear co-owner, Steven Tham’s, life. “We are blessed in our location where we are in the epicenter of art in New York. The Chelsea galleries are blocks away and the Bohemian art scene of Greenwich Village inspire us to ‘marry’ our customers with them, having art openings almost every month. We love that eyeglasses are objects carefully designed to become pieces of art on the face. People can be moved by them like they’re moved by a beautiful painting or sculpture.

Artsee’s specially lit displays.

“The name Artsee is meant to capture that feeling. We always had a vision of having a venue for eyeglass designers that understand this feeling but also includes artists that create these objects. That's why lines like Oliver Goldsmith, Christian Roth, Face á Face and Gold and Wood are top priorities for us to have in the store. They are designers that understand that a hand-made frame is a ‘piece of art’, a ‘sculpture for your face,’ without the big labels on the side and are timeless, seasonless classics,” said Santiago.

Artsee’s sunwear business is steady year-round and they sell at a 60/40 ratio to Rx. One of the aspects that have fed this success is the visual merchandising techniques Santiago cultivated while working for Morgenthal Frederics designing the windows in their stores before 9/11. “The look we always wanted for Artsee was a minimal look, not cold or dark, but with strategic lighting toward the frames hitting them in a certain way as to create shadows and forms like mosaics. We don't use POP because I want the frames to speak for themselves. We might carry brands that other stores have but we sit with designers directly and work colors like nobody else would. We dare to experiment.”

Longtime customer Sarah Kier gets fitted for a pair of sunglasses by optician Luiz Aguiar while co-owner Julio Santiago looks on.

And it is exactly that daring that has built up such a loyal customer base for Artsee. “Most of our customers are repeats and neighbors. Our customers are our best windows. The last trunk show we did with Claire Goldsmith from Oliver Goldsmith was the best we ever had. Celebrities came and learned about how glasses are made and now they wear Oliver Goldsmith for Artsee. Among them, Lucy Liu,” Santiago said.

And if a shop’s customers are their best advertisement you can’t get much better than that.

A Matter of “National Safety”

Oakley and the National Safety Council Team Up for Outdoor Vision Safety Program

ITASCA, Ill.--Oakley and the National Safety Council, the nation’s premier safety, health and wellness authority, have partnered to produce the “Outdoor Vision Safety” consumer education and custom publishing marketing program promoting important points for consumers to consider when selecting sunglasses. The National Safety Council has a strong history of creating exclusive, consumer education and custom publishing marketing programs and Oakley is the exclusive sponsor of this new initiative. 

One part of the program is a custom printed brochure, available to retailers, that offers a meaningful opportunity to provide product-focused advice on how patients and consumers can safely enjoy their favorite outdoor activities like bike-riding, hiking, swimming, jogging, sailing or surfing.

The brochure educates consumers on how the eye works and on the dangers associated with exposure to UVA, UVB and UVC light while telling them what to look for in their sunwear to minimize this damage. It introduces readers to the added benefit of purchasing impact resistant lenses to avoid unexpected trauma to the eye and how to recognize quality sunwear from that of lesser quality while teaching them how to take care of their sunwear to keep it working at optimal performance for years to come. It further delves beyond the surface by explaining the difference between lens shape and color, surface coatings and polarization, with a special sidebar on children and sunwear.

Oakley partnered with the National Safety Council following the results of a post-program consumer research survey by the Council  revealing that 73 percent of respondents believe the National Safety Council provides believable, credible and useful information; 64 percent revealed they were influenced to read the guides because of the presence of the NSC seal and 91 percent of respondents said they would purchase products and services approved by an authority like NSC.

For nearly 100 years, the National Safety Council has served as the premier source of safety and health information in the U.S. since 1913. It is a non-government, tax-exempt, 501(c) (3) not-for-profit public service organization devoted to educating and influencing people to prevent accidental injury and death in all aspects of their lives.

New Lines and Launches...