Tag Archives: mens eyewear

Filed under: Niloca, Shop Local. Shop Lincoln

Shop Local. Shop Lincoln: Paulina Meat Market!

Written by on March 4th 2015

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.

Johnny Begale, Sausage Kitchen Manager

Johnny is wearing a spicy Jawd frame by the Australian eyewear designer, Niloca, who are known for unexpected shapes and unique use of color in their handmade frames.

JOHNNY_ PAULINA MEAT MARKET_s

Paulina Meat Market is one of those great family business that are hard to find these days. In 1984, just as the current location was opening it’s doors, Johnny’s dad Bill, applied and started his career, learning to “break down cattle and serve carnivourous Chicagoans.” He and his wife, Laurie had the opportunity to buy the business from the original owners in 2006, and have made the market their own, exapnding their selection of fresh meats and sausages and compimentary products to appeal to the needs of their customers while still keeping the original roots of their German-American Meat Market intact.

Johnny has a degree in accounting from Illinois Wesleyan University and worked for 2 years at McGladrey, but found himself wondering if that was the right fit.  He began working for the family business in 2011 with the Sausage Kitchen team. “I have an awesome family and was fortunate enough to have a place to go when I needed to take a step back and figure things out.” Johnny has also put his accounting and business knowledge to good use, helping to make Paulina Meat Market the World Class Meat Market it is today.

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Fun Facts about Johnny:

How long have you been in business?  Paulina Market has been in business since 1949 (65 years)

Who was your teenage celebrity crush?  I was 19 when Annapolis came out (just on the edge of teenage years), and James Franco is a stud in that movie so would have to go with him!

If you could be any animal, what would it be?  I would have to be a bird, a Bald Eagle to be specific I guess.  I don’t know much about Bald Eagles, but I love to travel and I love my country so that would be a sweet animal to be!

Are you right or left handed?  Righty

What color are your eyes? Brown

Where did you grow up? Niles, IL

What ‘hood do you live in? Roscoe Village

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Johnny and his family want Paulina Market always strives to understand its customers and their meat-eating needs and pushes itself to be the best market in town!

Paulina Meat Market * 3501 N. Lincoln Avenue (corner of Lincoln & Cornelia) Chicago, IL 60657 * 773.248.6272

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Filed under: FASHION!, NEWS!

Introducing our newest line: Piero Massaro!

Written by on February 24th 2015

Bold color…Check! Beautiful wearable shapes…Check!  Unique design details…Check! Fantastic textures…Check!  Piero Massaro frames have it all!

PM Cubika

It is no surprise that the Queen of Specs fell hard for Italian eyewear designer’s  newest offerings and had to pick them up for the store!

Piero Massaro

Massaro is an artist,  playing with color, pattern and shape to create beautiful handmade eyewear.  He finds his inspiration in the world around him. Simple geometric shapes are puzzled together to create bold shapes.  Striped acetates evoke schools of fish swimming in the Mediterranean. Colors are inspired by the foods around him…fragrant oranges, toasted almonds, and pistachio nuts.

PMMediterraneo

Massaro is the recipient of the prestegious Special Award of the international jury of the Silmo d’Or in Paris in 2014, celebrating creativity and innovation.

PMCubika3

Each frame is carefully made by hand in Italy by skilled craftspeople. Frames are limited to 100 pcs per color and shape and each frame is numbered.

Stop by the shop and try them on.  You will totally understand why we are so enamored with them!

 

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!

Customer of the Week!!

Written by on April 8th 2014

We’d like you ALL to meet our newest Customer of the Week: Stephen!

B_STEPHENThis handsome, blue-eyed fellow decided to customize a pair of Anni Shades! For those of you who don’t know, Anni Shades are the only wooden (yes, WOOD) frames made in the Midwest! And they’re HIGHLY customizable. Taking advantage of that, Stephen chose this “Delray” frame in Ebony wood and selected an aqua blue accent. These far-from-basic frames suit Stephen perfectly, whether he’s going to his awesome job at Google, or brunching it with his hilarious entourage. :-)

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, Theo

CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!!

Written by on January 5th 2014

Check out our new Customer of the Week: JOHN!!

John is a pretty laid back guy. He’s also apparently a self proclaimed “THEO snob.” (According to our research, he’s the owner of 3 pairs of these Belgian beauties.)

So it was no surprise to us when he chose these hot  THEO Dillinger’s in electric blue to adorn that wonderfully bearded face! These THEO’s are from their newest Spring 2014 collection, so we had to special order these titanium from Belgium. They are so exclusive, we don’t even have them in the store yet!  THEO definitely loves you, John…and we do too!

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, February 31st, Super

CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!!

Written by on May 9th 2013

Introducing our Customer(s) Of The Week: Lisa and Frank!!

Keeping with the multiple COTW theme for the month of May, we’ve chosen to feature this super awesome husband/wife duo. Frank is rockin’ his tortoise RetroSuperFuture shades, while Lisa is making a statement with these kick-ass baby blue, wooden February 31st aviators.

This power couple just so happens to run Smog Veil Records, an independent record label based right here in Chicago. Not only do they distribute the traditional cd/dvd/vinyl media forms, they also work the digital route through iTunes and Napster. In addition to that cool fact, the company also has a green initiative, and its headquarters are powered by wind and solar energy.

Environmentally conscious AND stylish? How much cooler can they get?!

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, Theo

CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!

Written by on March 19th 2013

It’s that time again. Yup, you guessed it…Customer of the Week time! Allow us to introduce Chris….a.k.a Blitz Linster from the Polkaholics!! He is pretty hilarious, and has been a customer of ours since 2009.

Chris in his Theo Capone

Chris came in looking for a change and boy o’ boy did he get one! Chris went from a simple silver stainless steel IC Berlin frame to this handsome Theo Capone frame.

It’s a beautiful matte black plastic frame that he clearly loves! Thanks for being so awesome, Chris, and for being our customer of the week! Check out Chris and the Polkaholics, if you know what is good for you!

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, Theo, Unique Frame Lines

Our Customer of the Week is Anthony!!!

Written by on April 18th 2012

Anthony looks so handsome in his brand new specs!  He was ready to upgrade to a bolder pair of frames and he definitely came to the right place.  We had so much fun helping Anthony choose these titanium Theo frames.  The dark blue color highlights his baby blues, the red details add interest…and it looks like this Theo Cinquante+4 frame was made just for him!

Congrats, Anthony, you are our Customer of the Week!!!

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Filed under: Anne et Valentin, CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, Lafont, Unique Frame Lines

Customer of the Week!!!

Written by on April 4th 2012

Our Customer of the Week is Chris!

The Opticianista did a great job helping Chris pick out some new frames.  He fell in love with both pairs of glasses and couldn’t choose, so he bought both!  The Lafont frames below are slightly on the conservative side…

while the Anne et Valentin’s are a little more on the wild side.  We love that they are so dramatically different, but still both look amazing on Chris.

Chris looks super cool in his new specs…and he is our Customer of the Week!

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!

CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!

Written by on December 27th 2009

Let’s all jump for joy and congratulate DON, our Customer of the Week!!! Yaaaay!

Don came to our ic! berlin trunk show in November. After trying on some awesome frames, he decided to trust the professional opinion (and years of experience) of Serina and chose this Terrific ic! berlin frame… in BLUE!


ic! berlin, just started making frames in this color and Don was right there, ready to be one of the first to start wearing this incredible new color!

Way to go, Don! You’re our Customer of the Week!

Too many flex dollars, not enough time? At Eye Spy, we accept flex dollars and will make sure that you find quality handmade glasses as well as the best possible lenses for your prescription. Just ask and we’ll be happy to help you find an *awesome* new pair of specs!

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Filed under: CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!, Theo

CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!

Written by on December 12th 2009

Congratulations to PAUL, our Customer of the Week!

Paul read about Eye Spy in the Chicago Reader, where we were named in the Best of Chicago 2009 issue! Let me tell you, it was a blast helping Paul choose some new frames. When he tried on these Theo frames, we all knew they were the ones!

It was love at first sight!

Way to go Paul, your new Theo frames look amazing and you’re our CUSTOMER OF THE WEEK!

Too many flex dollars, not enough time? At Eye Spy, we accept flex dollars and will make sure that you find quality handmade glasses as well as the best possible lenses for your prescription. Just ask and we’ll be happy to help you find an *awesome* new pair of specs!

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