Specs Optical would like to invite you to send in a pic, or drop by the shop for a quick photo, and then tell us about your Specs. We’d love to tell the world a little about you. You can also directly post a picture of yourself in your specs with a few words on the Specs Optical Facebook page.

Hmmmm….

Fa La La La La…La La…La…Gift Certificate!

No?

Grandma got run over by a…Gift Certificate?

Ok. I got it. One more try…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Gift Certificates!

We can’t believe the end of the year, and thus, the holiday season is upon us already either. But, here we are. Whether you are thinking ahead or a last minute shopper, a Specs Optical gift certificate is an easy choice for any eyewear (this includes non-prescription sunglasses) lover!

Specs Optical gift certificates are available year-round, in any $ denomination, NEVER expire, and can be used in conjunction with Flex Spending (aka. HSA or Cafeteria Plan) dollars. Really…could it be any more convenient?

Stop by, call, or contact us via email any time to put together a Specs Optical gift certificate for anyone & everyone!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Check out the article “A Vision for Design” by Jennifer Gilhoi in the 2011 Autumn/Holiday issue of Artful Living magazine. It features a few talented individuals…

who happen to be architects…

who, by nature, happen to love & appreciate great design…

who happen to wear specs by…

you guessed it…

SPECS OPTICAL!

Click here or on the Artful Living logo for a link to the magazine. See pages 152-158 for the article.

Many of you have asked us over the years about the paintings. Who are they by? Is he local? Where can I see his work?

Charles Thysell is having his Autumn Studio Show next weekend and we highly recommend you save the date(s) and go take a look. For an appointment, you can call 612-378-8807

Friday October 21st, 7-11pm

Saturday October 22nd, 1-5pm

Sunday October 23rd, 1-5pm

Northrup King Building

1500 Jackson Street NE

Second Floor  #261

Minneapolis, MN 55413

We’re celebrating by helping Seva Foundation get the word out about their Healthy Eyes, Healthy Lives Campaign, that aims to accelerate the ability of Seva’s partner communities to provide for their own eye care. Through donations that the Seva Foundation receives, they grow the capacity of their Sight and Native American Community Health Programs that provide eye healthcare training opportunities, medical supplies and equipment. They also will continue their work in Tibet, Nepal, Cambobia and other countries to provide remote eye clinics.

Last year, Specs Optical sponsored a full day of mobile eye camp services; and we are happy to say that many other donors did too! We received a letter from Seva Foundation stating that they were able to perform “25% more sight restoring surgeries in Tibet” and that “78% more school children in Nepal received free eye exams and follow up care.”

We hope that you will consider celebrating World Sight Day by donating to Seva Foundation’s eyesight healthcare work with Native American communities here at home and others throughout the world.

To learn more or make a donation, visit the SEVA FOUNDATION website.

Give the Gift of Sight

SPECS OPTICAL is happy to spread the word about a remarkable non-profit that provides eye care services to remote areas of Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, Guatemala and other parts of the world. SEVA FOUNDATION accepts donations of all levels to:

• Sponsor a cataract operation and restore sight to a blind person in Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh or Guatemala.
• Help a woman living in a poor rural area get the eye care services she needs. From outreach and education to transportation arrangements, donations ensure that she avoids low vision and blindness.
• Train local doctors and rural health care workers to deliver desperately needed eye care services to the people of Tibet, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, Guatemala, Egypt and throughout Eastern Africa.
• Provide a child with specialized pediatric surgery. Now able to attend school, eventually work, and care for their own family, a child’s life is changed forever.
• Support the screening and provision of eyeglasses to twenty people in remote regions. Glasses help children to read and stay in school and elders to maintain their independence.
• Provide training, tools and specialized equipment. A trained eye care team will be able to prevent blindness and restore sight to thousands of people in underserved communities.
• Restore sight to at least 30 blind people in remote regions of Nepal, Tibet, Cambodia and Guatemala.
• Support a 10-day eye camp and provide over 1,000 eye examinations and 300 sight-restoring surgeries in remote communities where there is no other access to eye care.

Seva Foundation’s One-Day Eye Camp

SPECS OPTICAl is sponsoring via SEVA FOUNDATION a full day of mobile eye camp services in a remote region of Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia or Guatemala, restoring sight to as many as 30 blind people. Mobile eye camps are an innovative way to deliver quality eye care to remote areas where there are no hospitals.

To learn more about how you or your organization can GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGHT, visit SEVA’s website.

About Seva Foundation

Seva Foundation is most widely known for its innovative eye care programs in Asia and Africa, which have helped nearly three million blind people to see again through affordable cataract surgeries. In Guatemala and Mexico, Seva works with indigenous communities to provide the tools and training needed to sustain clean water systems, health care, and educational opportunities. Here in the U.S., Seva partners with Native American communities that are committed to building healthy communities, sustaining cultural values, and protecting the environment.

Steven

Specs Optical

RetroSpecs & Co. represents  and celebrates the “Golden Age” of eyewear manufacturing. Their collection of “real deal” vintage eyewear has been lovingly restored with precision and meticulously archived. They are categorized into one of five archives: Early Modern, Vintage, Specialty, Buffalo Horn Inlay, and MUSEUM. RetroSpecs pieces from each of these categories have been available at Specs Optical for many years, except MUSEUM….until now!

What does it mean for a piece to be classified as “Museum”? It means there are five or fewer known to exist worldwide. These extremely special and rare frames are only made available for viewing or for purchase on special occasions. One happens to be coming up.

Adam Cowfer of RetroSpecs & Co. will be at SPECS OPTICAL on Tuesday, August 16th 2011, from 11am – 7pm. He will be showing 20 to 30 of these museum caliber pieces, as well as 15 to 20 rares acetates (plastic frames) circa 1950-60s, previously unseen at Specs Optical.

you could join us at the OPEN STREETS MPLS CICLOVIA between 10 am and  2pm

on South Lyndale between 22nd and 42nd Streets.

Check them out on line at www.openstreetsmpls.com

In 1983, Mel Rapp of Toronto, Canada began creating his unique vision of eyewear. His collection, known as rapp, has evolved quite a bit since then, but he has kept intact the concept of “old-fashioned work ethics and modern technology.” While in New York this year at the Vision Expo, we learned that Mel and his team of 5 hand-craft (truly handmade, not just a claim), assemble, and finish each piece. They complete maybe ten pieces per day. This is unheard of in the industry. The result, however, is art. These are very limited shape and color combinations, some of which we only ever see once. Truly unique! Here are some of the new pieces that just arrived. Click on any of them for full view.

rapp Jason

rapp Perri

rapp Gwen

…and there are many more to see and try on. Stop by Specs Optical before they are all gone!

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