Jeremy Thomas for Oko by Oko PARIS
August 13, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Vintage reworked
Italian designs from the 1950s have been given a makeover by French firm Oko Eyewear Paris,
joining the company’s more modern Moko Besicles line
The French frame firm
Oko Eyewear Paris has
introduced a new premium
line of acetate frames
inspired by vintage Italian
designs of the
1950s. Prototype designs
for the New-York
collection, part of
its OkobyOko-Paris
brand, were introduced
at Vision Expo East in
New York earlier this
year and the new designs
will be on show at the
Silmo exhibition (September
23-26).
Designer and optician David
Beddock, one of the founders of Oko,
collaborated with an optician and
family friend from Rome, having been
inspired by her stock of vintage frames.
These original designs have been
reworked and the resulting collection
is 100 per cent made in Italy, with 20
models for men and women in bold
acetate colour combinations.
Beddock explains that he wanted to
recreate old glamour, taking inspiration
from New York city and the cinema of
the 1950s and 1960s. This can be seen
in the feminine cat’s eye and butterfly
shapes for women. Some of the frames
use original production methods, such as
the metal bridge with filigree detailing
in models NY01/NY02 and NY03.
Oko Eyewear was set up in the heart
of Paris in 1999 by a group of optician
friends and its frames are now stocked
by some 2,000 practices in France.
The company’s first collection, was
OkobyOko
which uses
the company’s
trademark logo of a tortoise. A
large range, this includes frames in
surgical steel and others in hand-made
Italian acetate, with a choice of
over 80 designs in vivid through to
sober colours. The collection is being
extended by some 20 new models in
acetate and metal for Silmo.
Material choice
Beddock explains the thinking behind
his eyewear: ‘I like the idea that our
spectacles are an indicator of trends; the
Oko models represent a kaleidoscope of
materials, the aim being to express the
joys of living. Even though I’m looking
for originality, I don’t wish to go as
far as obliterating the personality of
the wearer. Successful eyewear should
express the person’s character without
stealing the show.’
The New-York and OkobyOko
frames contrast with the
company’s chemically cut steel
‘Moko Besicles’
line of modern
looking styles
which are
made in Jura
region of France. These
light, flexible frames are screwless,
using a mechanical hinge system with
interlocking pins instead of a hinge
and come in a wide colour palette from
reds to gunmetal. The base-4 designs
feature interchangeable earsocks in
different shapes, colours and material
options of silicone, rubber and acetate.
Adaptable acetate inserts allow for the
use of thinner lenses than the grooved
Trivex or polycarbonate options and
enable consumers to personalise their
spectacles. Moko Besicles frames are
named after Greek mythology, from
Zeus through to Phoebe, with six new
designs for Silmo.
There is also a Kidoko collection of
children’s frames, with 17 illustrated
models aimed at children as young
as four through to 10-year-old
pre-teenagers. Oko describes Kidoko
frames as original and unusual, with
well-crafted details. New for Silmo are
four models in acetate, a first for the
collection, along with two in metal.
● Oko frames are distributed in the UK
by the AgenC. Contact Jeremy Thomas on: 07825828252.
Andy Wolf Eyewear
August 5, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Austrian handcraft is taking over the design market Hand work made in Styria is increasingly demanded on the international market for glasses. In 2006 Andy Wolf started with its first collection of timeless modern glasses, which not only fulfils highest aesthetical criteria but also provides ultimate functionality. Within the last year sales more than doubled while Andy Wolf is not targeting mass production but handmade luxury articles. “In contrast to numerous companies, who produce their glasses in low-wage countries in the Asia-Pacific-region, our products are entirely made in Austria”, comments Katharina Plattner, designer and managing partner of Andy Wolf. Beside stars like Hugh Grant and Eric Clapton, this philosophy convinces customers all over the globe. In that sense the Styrian designer and manufacturer of glasses emerged to an exclusive high-end brand. The label is present on all main international trade fairs ranging from Milan, Paris to Las Vegas. “At the moment Andy Wolf achieves its biggest turnovers in France and Italy. The products target a particular group of people for whom their eyeglasses are precious accessories. Therefore Andy Wolf products are only available at selective distributors”, states Plattner. Due to the rising success of the male collection Andy Wolf will soon expand its collection. Handmade in Austria Within the production process every item has to pass a series of manufacturing steps and quality cheques, which turns every Andy Wolf product into a unique piece of handcraft: „Finishing a pair of glasses takes several weeks as every single piece is handmade. The spectacle frames not only stand for style and elegance but also make you completely forget that you are wearing glasses“. The spectacle frames are made of acetat plates and prevent tension with the glass, they are hard-wearing and long-lasting.
MONOQOOL
August 3, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
In 2008, MONOQOOL was established north of Copenhagen by two Danes, whose vision was to bring new technology, design, and fashion to the modern eyewear industry. Their mission is to use the best from both worlds: to combine Danish design and an innovative mindset with Japanese craftsmanship and technology. Both owners have a life time experience doing business in both countries and one of them is still living in Japan with the responsibility for manufacturing. The idea behind MONOQOOL was to create something new. The result was two new concepts: the Helix series with its patented signature hinge and the Twins series with a three dimensional effect provided by its inventive double temples.
Kidoko from Oko by Oko
July 13, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Kidoko
Join us on Facebook!
If you love design and innovation in eyewear, trendiness and creativity, you surely love
Oko Eyewear. And if you love Oko Eyewear, you must join “les Créateurs de Lunettes”!
Follow this link and join Oko, Kidoko and Moko’s fans on Facebook!
Cosmopolitan
Dissapearing it
July 13, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Disappearing It
Someone called Rebecca Rachmani brought this inspiration to my attention on her Facebook status:
“There are two types of problems: those that get bigger when you ignore them and those that disappear when you ignore them.”
You know when there’s a small leak under the bathroom sink but you decide not to deal with it because 2 plumbers already ‘fixed’ it?
Then, one day you go downstairs on your way to work and the lawyer from the office downstairs catches your attention, and with teary eyes explains that there’s a dampness issue in the corner of his office and could you check if you have a leak? Poor guy.
So, due to my little trickle the poor guy couldn’t breath.
Another such example is when exercising, or when the car’s about to die. You know there’s a problem, so what’s the problem calling in a professional or asking for advice?
In cases where a person is so ripe to see the problem, the problem is much easier to solve. When a person is blocking, straining or blowing something out of proportion – in both cases there is excess – the solution can be much harder to arrive at.
When the Heart is open the knowledge is there – when we aren’t prepared to sit in our own silence and feel, the advantages of the God Given Tools we have are wasted.
When does a problem ‘disappear’?
We’re having a problem with a friend. Then suddenly we don’t hear from them again….does that mean the problems solved? Come on….Its just much easier to believe the problem is solved when we ‘disappear’ it.
Usually one problem will disappear, or we’ll have someone fix it (like a grown up) – then we forget about it – a few years later we have a problem – we forgot this is a repeat of the previous thing because we ‘disappeared’ it back then – now, we don’t have the luxury of ‘dissapearing’ it – (because the grown-up died and we are the grown-up now).
Now what?
Its like middle-age spread – its NOT going away unless you treat it.
If you are trying not to do something because you think you can’t. If the mountain seems too hard to climb, look into yourself and see, are you trying to run away from a friend, your weight, old age or yourself?
Why like that?
Be honest with yourself and seek inside yourself via meditation, a walk in the park, breathing, exercising, writing, a workshop, or body-work.
Did you know its not only advisable, its your duty to keep the environment inside and around you clean?
Disappear the thought that its going away on its own, because its not.