This month’s 944 Detroit Swag Giveaway Features a Amazing Pair of Special Edition Badgley Mischka Boyd Sunglasses from Urban Optiques.  Enter Now for Your Chance to Win Them!

Okay, summer is pretty much over, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of sun-filled mornings and afternoons ahead of you requiring a great pair of shades.

In celebration of the Fall fashion season, 944 Detroit and Urban Optiques are giving away another fab pair of couture sunglasses:  This time a pair of  Special Edition Badgley Mischka Boyd acetate aviators  with 18K white gold couture lenses valued at $780 dollars.

A unisex sunglass, the Boyd has been spotted on everyone from Brad Pitt to singer Kelly Rowland to models Heidi Klum and Alessandra Ambrosio.  While the Boyd is celeb favorite, no one has yet been seen in the Special Edition version of the Boyd we are giving away this month.  So if you win the Boyd, you’ll be setting the trend here.

How Do I Enter to Win?

Entering for a chance to win these lux sunglasses from Badgley Mischka Eyewear, Urban Optiques and 944 Detroit is easy: Just click over to the 944 Detroit Swag page and fill out the short registration form (it’s only a couple of fields.)  Not only will you be entered in the sunglass giveaway, but you’ll also have a chance at winning a print by emerging local artist Mark Sarmel.

RVS by V Eyewear Blends Handmade Craftsmanship with Fab Retro Styling, Shapes and Colors.  Should We Carry RVS Eyewear at Urban Optiques?

At Urban Optiques, we’re always looking for the new and unusual to add to our eyewear collections.

We’re partial to small, exclusive independent boutique eyewear brands — especially those that show a high-level of commitment to producing not only exceptionally-designed eyeglasses and sunglasses, but also understand the value of quality over quantity.

So when we ran across RVS by V Eyewear, we were instantly enamored with not only the bold colors and distinctive retro-inspired shapes of the frames, but also the philosophy of RVS by V Eyewear and its owner Vidal Erkohen.

RVS Eyewear’s claim-to-fame is that they hand-make and assemble each frame from the ground up.  Based in Istanbul Turkey, Vidal Erkohen and RVS Eyewear produce their eyeglasses and sunglasses from the highest-quality Mazzuchelli acetate.  The acetate is left unpolished, producing a truly bold, unique matte finish that we simply haven’t seen on other frames of this quality in the marketplace.

When we contacted Vidal Erkohen to ask him about the possibility of stocking RVS Eyewear, he explained the company philosophy very succinctly:

“We believe it’s very important to produce eyewear for people who value quality over quantity. Each piece we manufacture is truly HANDMADE.  This does not mean they were “hand-placed in a case.”  Everything is truly made from hand:  From our hand painted-red screws, brand prints inside the temples made one-by-one, and hand-sewn satin cases;  all of our pieces are made with the goal to bring back the originality and quality that was put into eyewear of the past.”

RVS produces its eyewear like small batches of fine wine — their collection is relatively small compared to most eyewear lines, comprising 10 opthalmic frames and 11 sunglass models for a total of 21 frames.  Each model is typically available in five to six different colors.

Each RVS eyeglass and sunglass is limited to 1,500 pieces, making it extra-exclusive and ensuring that you’ll be only one of 1,000 people in the world to own any given RVS by V Eyewear piece.

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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):

A Recent Rash of Lens Remakes on External Prescriptions Underscores the “Art” portion of Vision Correction.  Learn The Steps We Are Taking to Ensure Your Outside Prescription Is Accurate.

Lens remakes are the bane of any optometrist’s existence.

Not only are they costly for both the practice and the labs, but they also create frustration with patients and clients who may have to endure one or more lens remakes before they are actually able to see clearly.

No one wants them and every optician and optometrist works hard up-front to avoid them.

However, they do happen every now and then.

Why?

Well, unfortunately, sometimes a lab will make a mistake and get the script wrong.

Sometimes what a patient thought was “clear vision” during the exam isn’t so “clear” when they actually put the finished glasses on.

Other times, we just need to “tweak” a prescription and lens a few times, especially for new progressive wearers or people with complex vision correction needs like prism.

In very rare instances, a person’s vision may literally change between the refraction and the delivery of the finished frame and lenses.

Our Philosophy: We Work Until We Get Your Lenses Right. Period.

In all of these cases, we continue to work with the patient until we get the finished product right, and often we do this at considerable extra cost to Urban Optiques – both in additional lab rework fees and the staff’s time.  It’s just part of the process of providing good vision care and an accepted cost of business for us (even though we want to minimize it.)

The good news is that when we actually perform the eye exam and refraction at Urban Optiques, we have an extremely low remake rate. There are few specific reasons for this, which I’ll touch on a bit later.

But first, let me tell you about a recent “mystery” at Urban Optiques around remakes.

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Sunglasses Magazine Profiles Urban Optiques as Part of Their “Sun Selling: How The Pros Do It”  Series

Last month, Sunglasses Magazine — the leading trade magazine for buyers and sellers of quality sunwear — approached us about doing a interview and profile on Urban Optiques in the magazine’s regular “Sun Selling: How the Pros Do It”  column.

The magazine’s editor, Ana Montoya, discovered Urban Optiques online, and was intrigued by the way we use our website to present and promote our eyewear and sunwear online.

Ana wanted to know if we’d like to be interviewed as an example of a full-scope optometry practice that also put a strong emphasis on sunwear product alongside our vision health care services.

Since the whole vision behind Urban Optiques is to literally change the experience of going to the eye doctor from something sterile and clinical, to something exciting, high-touch and memorable, we were happy to see Sunglasses Magazine describe our website as “stylish” and our practice as out-of-the-ordinary.

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