Press

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.

continue

VSP Taps Dr. Michelle to Answer Member and Reader Vision Care Questions in New Monthly National e-Mail Newsletter

This month, VSP, the largest not-for-profit vision benefits and services company in the U.S. with more than 55 million members, debuted its newly redesigned EnVision e-mail newsletter.

Aside from an entirely new look and feel, the newsletter also features a new monthly “Ask the Eye Doc” column written by Urban Optique’s own Dr. Michelle Calder Cardwell.

Dr. Michelle will be a regular, ongoing monthly contributor to EnVision — which goes out to nearly 5 million subscribers nationally — answering questions from members and the general public around vision care.  Not only are we honored and thrilled that VSP chose Dr. Michelle as its resident vision expert, but we also love the new newsletter format and design.

To sign-up for the VSP EnVision e-mail newsletter which features articles on vision care and eyewear fashion and trends, visit the VSP website.  If you want to ask Dr. Michelle a question, you can submit your questions for the “Ask The Eye Doc” monthly feature here.

continue

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):

Urban Optiques and Sama Eyewear Featured Together in Women’s Wear Daily Accessory Edition Discussing the Trend Toward 24-karat Gold Sunglasses

We were just perusing the July 19th Edition of  Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) and were delighted to find that an interview we gave to fashion reporter Lauren Benet Stephenson at WWD a few weeks ago helped shape a full-page piece on 24-karat gold lensed eyewear in this week’s July WWD Accessories Issue.

While we’re a pretty modest group around Urban Optiques (aside from all of our flashy sunglasses), this is one of those times when it feels okay to brag a bit. After all, it’s not every day that a small, independent eyewear boutique like Urban Optiques receives this kind of exposure in the fashion industry’s premier global daily. We were also excited to see sunglasses from both Sama and Badgley Mischka featured not only in the article, but on the cover.  We love it when we can help our best partners get more exposure.

If the New York Times is where you go for world events, and the Wall Street Journal for financial news, WWD is the first place every fashion designer, retailer and industry mover-and-shaker goes to see what’s hot in the industry.  So serving as the primary, trusted retail source for this article (we’re actually the only consumer facing source in the article — everyone else quoted represents the brands and eyewear manufacturers)  is kind of a big deal for us.

We’re also particularly proud of the job that our Practice Manager, Lindsey Champine,  did working with the writer on this story. Lindsey’s quotes are golden (no pun intended), especially her response to the reporter’s question about why she believed ultra-lux eyewear products like 24-karat gold lenses continue to sell so well, even in a struggling economy.

continue

Check out the recent article that we contributed to in the Summer Fun in the Sun Edition of Hometown Life Woman. Advice on how to pick out the perfect sunglasses.