Filed under: Shop Local. Shop Lincoln
In order to highlight our fellow independent small business owners on our stretch of Lincoln Ave., we asked our photographer, Dave Rentauskus, to take portraits of our comrades in our spectacular specs….along with a few shots of their shops.
Jessica Emery, Owner and Dentist at Sugar Fix Dental Loft
Jessica is wearing a fab pair of Anne et Valentin Fanzine frames. The bright yellow metal and marbled grey really pop on her and are both professional and fun – like Jessica!
Jessica is the Dentist extraordinaire at Sugar Fix Dental Loft. She grew up with a Dentist mother and had a curiosity about dentistry that led to enrollment in dental hygiene school. This led her to Tufts University School of Dental Medicine where she graduated and then working alongside her mother in Boston. When Jessica came to Chicago, she fell in LOVE with the city and decided to make her dream come true by opening her own practice – the amazing space that is now Sugar Fix Dental Loft.
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Fun Facts About Jessica:
How long have you been in business? 9 years
Who was your teenage celebrity crush? Jake Ryan
If you could be any animal, what would it be? Chameleon, so I can so up the sun on the beach
Are you right or left handed? Right handed
What color are your eyes? Hazel
Where did you grow up? Sutton, MA
What hood do you live in now? Evanston
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What sets Jessica’s practice apart from other dental offices is her true passion for smiles and her dedication to her patients. As a mother of three, she cares for her patients like members of her own family. She treats only one patient at a time which allows her to focus fully on care an comfort of each client that walks through her door.
Sugar Fix Dental Loft * 3346 N Paulina St. Chicago Il 60657 * 773-883-1818
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Filed under: Anne et Valentin, CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, FASHION!, Unique Frame Lines
Help welcome 0ur new Customer of the Week – Colleen!!!
Colleen has been buying her glasses from Eye Spy since 2011 and has collected a diverse wardrobe of frames to adorn her face.
Colleen’s newest eyeglasses frame is a gorgeous Anne et Valentin Griffin frame in a beautiful turquoise and chocolate brown. This frame is so great on her – it frames her eyes perfectly and the matte color is so rich and pretty. The turquoise really makes her eyes pop and the brown brings some warmth to her complexion. 
Take a look at some of her other gorgeous glasses:
Anne et Valentin Modern Love
Theo Sixteen
Anne et Valentin Fanzine
It is clear that Colleen likes to mix it up, switching between acetate and metal frames depending on her mood and her outfit for the day. She also has a great selection of colors! We think her newest frame brings a nice modern feeling to her collection.
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Filed under: NEWS!, Sabine Be., Unique Frame Lines
We have some new frames to entice and delight you from a wonderful new (to us) designer. Let me introduce you to our newest collection of french eyeglasses, Sabine Be! But first, some background…
The Queen of Specs had been seeing photos of Sabine Be for a over a year….so, when she made her wishlist for the buying show in Paris, Sabine Be was at the top of the list! The Queen likes to carry independent, small, colorful lines that are designed by opticians. In addition, independent optical designers are so nice to work with…and the quality & workmanship is amazing. Our appointment with Sabine Be was secured for the last day of the buying show. Each day that the Queen passed by the Sabine Be booth, she started drooling and the Specs Wrangler had to pull the Queen away!! Finally, the day arrived! And the clouds parted…..
Are you in LOVE yet? Everyone here at Eye Spy Optical have a bit of a crush, especially on this sassy little cat ear number.
Sabine grew up with a love of design, fashion and eyewear – both parents were involved in the optical world. She knew she would grow up to be a designer of some sort. So after years of work as an optician, Sabine started her own line of unique and colorful frames.
You may not know this but opticians make THE BEST eyewear designers. They pay attention to the little things – what will fit well, what will look good, what will feel comfortable in a frame. Sabine Be is comfortable and fun to wear. She uses beautiful colors and pairs them with fun and easy to wear shapes.
They are also beautifully made – Sabine has her frames made by hand at a small, well-known eyewear factory in France. Detail and quality have served as her guides she has been recognized by the eyewear design world for her talents, she was recently nominated for the prestegious Grand Prix Silmo d’Or 2015 in Paris.
We have a great selection of Sabine Be’s women’s and men’s frames as well as some fantastic accessories. Consider yourself warned…you may squeal with delight when you see them. 
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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, FASHION!, Francis Klein
It is your favorite time of the week…yes, time to annouce our Customer Of The Week – LaTonya!!!!
LaTonya is like many women who come to Eye Spy. She has had a prescription for a while, she even has glasses, but she doesn’t really like to wear them. Over the last year she has noticed that she is straining her eyes and when she got her last eye exam, her doctor told her that she needs to wear her glasses all the time. This is NOT what LaTonya wanted to hear, but she decided that if she found some glasses that she LOVES she will wear them. She even decided that for her, it makes the most sense to get a couple of frames so that she can switch it up depending on her style.
With the help of our Design Mave, Sara, she decided on a pair – a gorgeous deep blue Wing frame by Francis Klein.
We know this isn’t her exact frame…but Francis Klein frames are super customizable. You can choose your color, your decor style and your crystals!
We LOVE the way Wing fits LaTonya and how the color and pattern look with her complexion! Wing has just the right amount of fun and funky and will go with almost everything in her wardrobe.
LaTonya looks fab in her new frame and now she will also be able to see! Win win!
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Filed under: Anne et Valentin, EVENTS!, Mykita, Non-Profit of the Month, SpexWax, Theo
You may not know this but the Queen of Specs, Alissa, is a woman and a small business owner!!! Gasp! And all of the lovely folks workin’ at Eye Spy Optical these day are also women! So you might not be surprised to find out that Alissa is totally into supporting women’s businesses and issues. Each month we donate a portion of sales at one of our events to a local non-profit organization. This month we are excited to be working with Women Employed.
Women Employed is a fantastic organization and was founded in 1973 with the mission to “improve the economic status of women and remove barriers to economic equity.” They are focused on addressing issues that impact women in low paying jobs like paid sick-leave, fairness in the workplace, stable schedules, living wages etc.
This is a group of hard-working people who are dedicated to helping women succeed in life and removing major barriers that can get in the way of that.
Some of the awesome accomplishments that Women Employed have achieved in the last 5 years:
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As the leading advocate for state-funded tuition assistance in Illinois, WE prevents deep cuts to those investments in the face of the state’s fiscal crisis.
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WE leads a growing campaign to raise the minimum wage in Illinois and collaborates with national groups to win an increase at the federal level.
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WE wins commitments from state leaders to implement “bridge programs” that help low-skilled adults advance to college-level courses in their chosen career fields.
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WE works with community colleges across Illinois to improve support services that help students stay in school and graduate.
Help us support Women Employed’s mission to assure that “All women are treated fairly in the workplace, are able to attain the skills they need for the jobs they want, and are respected for the work they do.”
We will be donating a portion of our sales at our trunk shows this month, so stop in and check out our fabulous glasses and help suport a great Chicago oranization!
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Filed under: Anne et Valentin, EVENTS!, Mykita, SpexWax, Theo
Y’all it’s that magical time of year again! Trunk Show month at Eye Spy! It’s every Saturday all month long! We’ve got all of our favorite lines scheduled to make an appearance! Check out the line up below!
Anne et Valentin on November 7th
Anne et Valentin single handedly manages to give you just the right amount of color and grace in each of their lovely frames! And while their creations are original, colorful and lively, they are, above all, objects that combine ergonomics, technical requirements, and respect for those who wear them.
Spex Wax on November 14th
Spex Wax is the ultimate upcycle: art for your face! Rescuing unplayable records, recrafting them with love and artistry that is the very core of Spex Wax. Come and choose from one of their brilliant styles. If for some reason you can’t manage to find your dream pair, you can have one designed for you! Each pair is totally swoon worthy, but don’t take my word for it, come and see for yourself.
THEO on November 21st
Theo eyewear is a little bit like magic in the way that their frames are designed. If you are looking for metal or acetate they have got you covered in the smartest, dreamiest way possible. Their pairing of color and shape is on point. Don’t believe me? Come in and see every perfect pair in each incredible color. We will have booze and snacks to make your Saturday that much better.
Mykita on November 28th
Mykita has been ruling the the screwless hinge game since 2003! Laser cutting and the hand bending of each frame are just the start of Mykita’s effortless perfection. Clean lines and graceful shapes are where Mykita is at. Oh, and did we mention that they are dang near impossible to break?!
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Filed under: Anne et Valentin, CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, FASHION!, Unique Frame Lines
Hey everyone! We have a new customer of the week! Say hi to Hawke!
Hawke came in needing help fixing an old pair of glasses that had fallen prey to the tiny hands of a grabby child – kids can’t seem to resist the siren song of a pair of glasses…before you know it SWOOP! they are off!
We were able to help him get his old frames back in order, but he realized that he might want to get a new pair since it had been a while since he had updated his glasses game.
Hawke has a low bridge and frames that come with nosepads tend to keep those specs where they need to be, but liked the bold look of plastic frames! Patsy, our Specs Wrangler, got right down to it select the always fantastic, Fame frame by Anne et Valentin. He liked it so much that he decided to get it in 2 colors!
The black and charcoal frame is a great alternative to a boring black frame. It still has the clean lines that you get from a black frame, but the matte plastic on the front add a textural element that keep this frame modern.
Tortoise plastic is classic and softens this grey metal frame bringinging elements of dimension and light.
It is amazing how different the same frame in two different colorways look!
Hawke is now rocking his new frames and feels like a million bucks. I hope he can keep those little kid fingers away from them!
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Filed under: FASHION!, NEWS!, Spectacular Sunglasses
Everyone at Eye Spy has been talking about our newest line of limited edition sunglasses since the moment they came in. They are a genius collaboration between eyewear designer Fakoshima and fashion designer Ria Keburia.
Fakoshima is designed by Konstantin Shilyaev, a graphic designer turned eyewear designer who finds inspiration in Japanese design, fashion, architecture, cinematography and electronic music. His designs blend playful design with a futuristic ideas. “We believe that humans will be androgenic with incorporated elements associated now with robots, androids and new technologies.”
Ria Keburia is a Georgian avant-garde fashion designer who lives in Paris and is well known for her crazy clothing and exciting fashion shows. She worked with Fakoshima to create a line of eyewear to accessorize her SS15 collection.
They found inspiration in candy colors, childhood and toys. They use chunky acetates in fun colors, bold graphic shapes and playful takes on iconic frame shapes – cats, circles and brows.
This collaboration is the bee’s knees and they will instantly put a smile on your face!
Which pair do you want?
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Filed under: Anne et Valentin, CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, FASHION!, Gentle Monster
Our uber-chic Customer Of The Week is Ruth!
Ruth has been a customer here at Eye Spy for a few years now and she always has wonderful taste. We love how these slightly oversized Anne et Valentin Modern Style frames look on her.
Everything comes together in this frame – the shape is a reimagined take on vintage eyeglass shapes, the little pops of red metal on the temples make this frame modern and the tortoise is a classic color that is crazy versatile.
Ruth’s Gentle Monster Magician frame is also an updated take on a traditional sunny and is a frame she will be able to wear for years.
Chocolate chip acetate and gold metal…how can you go wrong?
Ruth’s frames have all the right elements and she will be able to wear them long after the current fashion trends come and go. This is what classic style is all about!
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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, Theo
Tip your hats to our elegant Customer Of The Week Deanna!!!
Deanna came in after seeing her friend wearing a fabulous pair of glasses from Eye Spy. She wanted a new frame -something bold and colorful – and you know she came to the right place. Patsy, our Specs Wrangler, helped her try on several fun frames. Deanna almost walked out the door in a pair of Rapp cat-eyes, but a very special Theo caught her eye… and she absolutely HAD to have it!
The O by Theo is a frame that is bold and beautiful, but also has a sense of humor. We think that it looks striking on Deanna. Her silver hair and porcelain skin make this frame POP and the fit is nothing but perfect.
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