Mokucho-Roman Eyewear

I arrived back from my trip to Tokyo and Hong Kong two weeks ago and have had my head down working hard. So this is my first chance to update on what the story was over there.

Tokyo is a great city, a world city where so much is going on everywhere. From Harajuku to Disneyland the Japanese love to dress up a little crazy. And they do it with total authenticity.

There are so many great little shops that can give one so many great ideas to merchandise our retail space....and it is so easy to get around on their subway system. You may get the idea that I like Tokyo. You are 100% correct there.

Apart the loss to the All Blacks it was a great time in Tokyo.

I did do some work and went to IOFT (International Optical Fair Tokyo) for three days.
The major impression that I get is that we in Perth are not lacking for great eyewear and contact lens technology. Most of what was displayed was available to us in Claremont and we strive to keep on top of it all for our clientelle.

Also I was able to source from a boutique frame manufacturer in Japan an exclusive range of unique frames. Mokucho-Roman eyewear are manufactured in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, the epicentre of quality frame manufacture in Japan. Most high quality acetate and titanium spectacle frames are manufactured in this region.

The quality of construction and material finishes are nothing short of astounding in this very small range. Some of the models have a wood grain finish and a beautiful warmth in their design.

You can now see them on our shelves next time you pass the shop. They are beautiful items and we are proud to be retailing them.

My next post will take you through our adventures through hot and steamy Hong Kong.

What Is Presbyopia?

Haven't posted since we moved to the new premises. Apologies for my tardiness.

It has been a great move and we love the new surrounds. the new Claremont Quarter will only continue to improve as the development moves on.

Promise I'll try and keep the blog posted with new and relevant information, as it comes to hand and to mind.

This is part one of an occasional series about eye conditions.

We start today with the most common eye condition which we see at Eyes of Claremont.

Presbyopia is a vision condition in which your eyes' lenses lose their flexibility. This makes it difficult for you to change focus between near, far and in-between objects.

Commonly it has been thought of as long-sightedness, unfortunately it has more to do with one's date of birth than the length of the eyeball.

If you feel as though you may be experiencing symptoms associated with presbyopia, take a moment to answer the following questions:
* Do you tend to move things further away to help you focus or read - like a menu?
* Have you experienced difficulty performing certain close-up tasks, such as reading fine print in the newspaper or threading a needle?
* Is reading not as enjoyable as it once was because you become sleepy, get headaches, or have trouble focusing?
* Do you have difficulty reading in dim light?
* Have you noticed that any of the above signs seem to get worse as the day progresses?

If the answer is “Yes” to any of these questions, you could be suffering from a condition called Presbyopia. Presbyopia affects just about everyone sooner or later, but most often occurs in your forties.

It is when your near vision begins to blur.

Progressive lenses are for people with Presbyopia; as are reading lenses and progressive near lenses. We'll deal with these options at a later posting when we deal with specific spectacle lenses.

Contact lenses are another possibilty for correction of presbyopia. Another issue I will deal with on another post.

In other Eyes of Claremont news Damon has just returned from SILMO, the annual optical fair in Paris. Where he perused the latest European spectacle frame and sunglass releases. We're looking forward to getting the new product on the shelves very soon for you.

Meanwhile I am off to Tokyo and Hong Kong international trade fairs to see what is available from the Asia Pacific region. And to see the Wallabies beat the evil empire (ie All blacks). More news on this in a few weeks.

At Long Last

It took us longer than we expected to get our great new premises open in the new Claremont Quarter.

All the pain is forgotten as we settle in to the new surroundings which we are enjoying immensely. Friday afternoons in the centre need to be experienced!

As time moves on we are adding little bits and pieces to the shop, via new frame lines and new decorations. Expect us to keep doing this as long as we are here.

The new colour scheme has been reflected in our new business stationery designed by a great graphic designer Michelle Leslie. We appreciate the help that she gave us in this regard. It is nice to collaborate with a real professional.

New frames are arriving from all over the world for us, as do the lenses that we routinley use. Munich, Thailand, France and even Perth are some places that we source the latest technology in lens material and design. We'll discuss these lens technology in greater depth in some later posts.

Damon, myself and the team look forward to welcoming to our new space soon.

The new shop is directly oppsite the new Coles Fresh Food market in Claremont Quarter.

So Near, and Yet So Far

We are now anticipating our new premises to be open on Thursday 26 March (yes, in 2009).

Claremont Quarter looks fantastic and we are raring to open. And we will.

Less Than Human, More than glasses

Here at Eyes of Claremont we think long and hard about what collections we keep on our shelves. They must have some qualities and depth for us to feel comfortable displaying them.

When we first sighted the Less Than Human collection from Japan we were very impressed. Not impressed enough to put it onto our shelves at that point though. The collection was very good but not deep enough to warrant a place on our displays.

One year down the track we reviewed the new season from the lads and felt as if we should share this product with our clients.

Beautiful frames, hand crafted and with intricate detail in all the right places. They have some amazing actetates that are bold but subtle at the same time. The design team have played with hinge construction to wonderful effect.

We even have frames amongst our collection that the temples rotate, so you can show different colours as the whim takes you.

The collection is innovative, whimsical and beautifully conceived. The team at Eyes of Claremont here urge you to come down and try them on for yourself. we think you'll enjoy wearing them as much as we do.

Don't forget we are moving in early march to our new purpose built premises in the fabulous new Claremont Quarter. So please come and see us and let us show off our new shop.

Love Is In The Air

On 17 January 2009 our erstwhile bachelor, Damon finally tied the knot with his beautiful fiancee Jo in a lovely ceremony at St Michael the Archangel Church in West Leederville.

The reception was held at Sitella winery in the Swan Valley on a gorgeous evening. The wine flowed and we danced the night away in lovely surroundings.

The happy couple are currently honeymooning in Bali.

And here are some pics to prove it all really happened and how nice it was.

The Future Is Now

On March 3 2009 we begin a new phase in the life of Eyes of Claremont.

We will be opening our new premises in the halls of Claremont Quarter, Shop T148.

We look forward to welcoming you into our freshly liveried premises, we hope that you will enjoy our new surroundings and new colour scheme (many thanks Josh Rouse).

From here we will continue to provide our premium optical solutions for the western suburbs of Perth and beyond.

There will be many new and exciting brands that we will offer as well as the many that we currently carry.