Buy Michigan Now

When You Deliver The Millionth Closed Loan, Your Shades Better Match The Mission! Check Out the Sunglasses from Urban Optiques Featured in Quicken Loan’s “The Millionth Loan” Movie …

Yesterday, Detroit-based national mortgage company Quicken Loans announced their millionth closed loan with a letter on their homepage (written in Comic Sans, no less) from founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert, a full-page ad in USA TODAY and a truly entertaining “mini-movie” about the guy who is put “in charge” of watching for the “millionth loan.”

Urban Optiques provided the sunglasses that appear on the two “men in black” in the elevator, the guys charged with making sure the millionth loan arrives safely to its destination.

The featured sunglasses are the Badgley Mischka Charles and the Prada PR65HS.  Both are rectangle-shaped aviators. Great choices to get that FBI/Secret Service/Private Security dude look.

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What’s Hot? Detroit’s Truly Independent Trendsetters Dish On What’s “In Store” For Fall Style

Last month Candace Dickow at 944 Detroit approached us with a very cool opportunity: 944 was looking for 10 of Metro-Detroit’s leading Independent  Trendsetters to participate in a special two-page feature in 944’s September Fashion Issue on what we thought would be hot this season in terms of fashion, style and accessories.

What we especially loved about the concept was that unlike many of the other major local, upscale lifestyle magazines in Metro-Detroit, 944 chose to focus on smaller, independent businesses, versus simply falling back on the big, upscale department stores that seem to be featured over-and-over again in other local magazines’ fashion spreads and pictorials.

At Urban Optiques, we’ve always scratched our heads when we see the local glossies turn to the giant department stores for product and insight on style trends.

We have scores of fantastic, smaller, independent boutiques and retailers right here in Metro-Detroit that have deep expertise in their industries and are blazing fashion and style trails at a pace that the more conservative department store buyers simply aren’t willing to commit to.  And many of these featured businesses are offering deeper, more unique and exclusive collections than the corporate giants at Somerset Mall. In fact, in the case of Urban Optiques, most of our eyeglasses and sunglass brands simply can’t be purchased

Last month Urban Optiques sponsored the 2nd Annual “Buy Michigan First Festival” in Northville, and based on attendance and response, there is a tremendous amount of demand in Metro-Detroit for supporting the types of businesses featured in the “Independent Trendsetters” spread in 944.  These smaller businesses create jobs, keep a large portion of their profits in the local economy, tend to reinvest into the community and are quickly putting Detroit back on the map as as an up-and-coming center of creativity, entrepreneurship — and yes — style.

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Urban Optiques Vision & Eyewear Featured in This Week’s Northville Record “Strictly Business” Section

Just in time for the Fall eyewear season, we picked up a 3/4 page Q&A in the Northville Record!

Not only were we thrilled with the coverage, but we are also extremely pleased with how well it represents who we are, what we do and what we believe sets us apart from nearly every other Metro-Detroit eyewear boutique and optometrist.

Check it out (click on the image for larger version):

Vision Care, Style and Made-In-Michigan Products, Business and Services Come Together at Festival in Downtown Northville

It’s official (even if it’s a little last minute): Urban Optiques has signed on as an event sponsor for the 2nd Annual “Buy Michigan Now” Festival in Downtown Northville August 6th – 8th.

The three day festival will feature sidewalk sales, live music, children’s activities, a health fair, fashion shows and plenty of Michigan-based businesses and Michigan-made products.

Urban Optiques will be actively participating during two of the three days of the festival:  On Friday August 6th we’ll be providing free vision screenings from 10 am to 5 pm to festival attendees as part of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s day-long Health Fair.

Then on Sunday we’ll be sponsoring and participating in “Style Sunday” which showcases made-in-Michigan fashion, jewelry and accessories. The day includes fashion shows from renowned Michigan designers Katerina Bocci, Project Runway finalist and co-creator of Fashion in Detroit Joe Faris, and designer Cynthia LaMaide.  We’ll be on hand at the events showing the latest in trends and styles in eyewear and sunwear.

We’re particularly excited about this sponsorship because it lets us emphasize two different parts of Urban Optiques that we think make us unique: Our focus on full scope vision care for life (helping you see) as well as stocking the area’s largest collection of premium-quality boutique and couture eyewear that get you seen.

Why “Buy Michigan Now?”

The “Buy Michigan Now” movement, spearheaded by Lisa Diggs, challenges Michigan residents and supporters of the state to factor Michigan into their daily buying decisions.  In other words, whenever possible, buy locally. Whether that’s products manufactured, grown or distributed by Michigan companies, or services provided by Michigan businesses (like Urban Optiques, for instance), the idea here is to jump start and grow the local economy by supporting businesses that keep the dollars in the state.

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