Monthly Archive for January, 2010

TRUNK SHOW LaLoop and Anne et Valentin 2/3/10


TRUNK SHOW

AV 1—Wednesday February 3rd, 2010—LaLoop 5 Noon to 7pm

All of us at Specs Optical are excited to announce that Elizabeth Faraut of LaLoop and Gabriel Gestin of Anne et Valentin will be here with their entire collections on display!

It is an extremely rare occasion that the entire Anne et Valentin collection will be available for viewing outside their own family run shop in Toulouse, South of France. Anne et Valentin frames are all-at-once clean, colorful, sculptural, vibrant, and unique. It is not uncommon to hear us describe them as “show-stoppers.” The right Anne et Valentin piece will compliment and accentuate your identity…a style all your own.

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And after you pick out your beautiful new Anne et Valentin specs, why not compliment them with a handmade LaLoop. Designer Elizabeth Faraut created LaLoop out of necessity as an alternate to old-fashioned granny leashes (you know…the ones the dangle to either side of the face). LaLoop, worn as a necklace, is a must-have for anybody wearing sunglasses, multiple pairs, readers, etc.. If there is always a place for your specs, you won’t lose them, right? Sterling silver, gold, and bronze loops are paired with leather, shell, horn and tortoise acetates, semi-precious stones, and wood. Styles range from clean and simple to downright couture and have been prominently featured in Cosmo, Allure, Instyle, and Elle…to name a few.

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Elizabeth and Gabriel are looking forward to meeting and playing with all of you. If you’d like to make an appointment to sit with one or both of them, please give us a call @ 612.374.2114 or drop us an email. Otherwise, stop by anytime between Noon and 7pm!

hand made, full page, on the stage

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Lyle Jackson and Ellen Roeder of Tulle and Dye, as seen in the Star Tribune. Article by Kim Ode photo by Tom Wallace.

This caption from the article celebrates  people still doing custom hand made goods. Lyle is connected to SPECS OPTICAL in oh, so many ways. Tulle and Dye’s work has been out there, notably for several years in the form of the costumes for Daytons/Marshal Fields/Macy’s  holiday displays, theater and dance in Minneapolis and New York, including James Sewall Ballet, Zenon Dance Company, and Alvin Ailey. Tulle and Dye also did the costuming for Grey Gardens and Rocky Horror Show for the McKnight Theater, and  you can see their work in “Beauty and the Beast” at the Ordway this December.  OK… I have to brag, because I did a little teeny tiny part of a costume for the show. And…as one might guess…it is sparkly.

Lyle is wearing one of my favorite brands, Mel Rapp.  Mel, a Toronto designer, also embraces the art of hand made crafts. Unlike the above tutu, it should not cause chafing!

It’s always exciting  and humbling for us to see our work out there, like the cool Specs on Juliette, just up the street at the Terrace Hair Neon Beach and so many others in the neighborhood.  It gives us goose bumps to see “hand made” thrive in the Twin Cities.  In our small way, we try to emulate those same values here at SPECS OPTICAL .

Carry on friends!

Steven