Derapage hits New York via San Francisco

Joel Schuman, founder of Five Quarter Studio, was one of the first customers to fall in love with Derapage frames.
A designer himself, Joel was immediately attracted to strong architectural lines and structural elements of the frames. Fitted with top of the line occupational progressive lenses, it looks like the frame is a total hit.



"Hi Dimitri,
We picked up my new specs at UPS on our way to a party. Lynne was wild for them as soon as I opened the box and put them on, and so was everyone at the party. Big hit! I wore them all evening, and they are perfect for a restaurant - I can read the menu and see everyone around the table and everything clearly, near and far, including my food.
I didn't get to see myself wearing them until we got home a few minutes ago, and I'm very pleased.
Thanks again for your most excellent help in selection and fitting. The Zeiss lenses are so much better than anything else I've tried that I want Lynne to have her glasses refitted with them. I guess that means another trip to SF...
Best regards,
Joel. "

Surf bookshelf by Joel Schuman.

Spec Espace continuum

The dust is settling from all the recent trading and the news reports about approximate arrival dates are starting to flow in.
Our friends at Spec Espace are informing us they plan to deliver at the end of January. Considering methods of production and number of custom modifications the frames will have to go through ( per our request), it is pretty damn fast.

Say hello to BEVEL specs

No pics yet, but after looking at fresh styles from Bevel at IOFT in Tokyo (thank you Rick!), we see no reason to hold out any longer.
Bevel is a stellar American operation and having being partners for over a year, working together on making the Orgreen dream possible, it is only natural for Spectacles for Humans to include Bevel in our line up.

Coming very soon...

The brand of all brands

When it comes to eyewear design there are no brands that can display brighter feathers than Oliver Goldsmith.
Classic, imitated, dignified....original . And how can one argue with ORIGINAL?

Unfortunately business circumstances present themselves in such a way that Oliver Goldsmith Rx spectacles are not very available in US.
We were a Yen short of selling our souls to be able to carry the famed opticals... but ... conditions are not perfect and we must wait.
Don't despair, Claire Goldsmith and her North American liaisons are working on making these gems available to US clients and should it happen, we promise, Spectacles for Humans will be the first outlet to present the full range of OG eyewear.

We've got our eye on this one.

ORGREEN - new acetates

While they were not ready for IOFT , Henrik Orgreen and his Japanese partners were all excited about offering acetate frames again. Scheduled to be revealed at SILMO the frames are pure Orgreen - sleek, stylish and ahead of everyone. Very Danish!

Take a peak at the prototypes...



It looks like San Francisco may receive the Henrik injection soon. On their way to a friend's wedding in Hawaii, Henrik and Sahra are planning to make a stop at Spectacles for Humans next August and that means one thing..... Paaaaarty!!!!

I spy

Local eyewear shops in San Francisco are going crazy trying to decipher what it is we do and
(politely) dealing with their spies is something we have learned to live with.


Poor bastards are trying hard to figure out what makes Spectacles for Humans so special it takes shoppers sweating unpronounceable brand names all over town. LOL!

It's Spivvy time

We have been talking with Yuji at Kaneko for a year now trying to figure out how SPIVVY would fit at Spectacles for Humans.
Yes. It's a go ahead.



By all accounts, this is a brilliant line with quality levels that are simply untouchable. Employing supernaturally skilled craftsmen SPIVVY is a line of spectacle frames of unparalleled precision and beauty and we are more proud than happy to be pioneering it in San Francisco. We've had some concerns about few technical aspects but they have been worked out and we are anxiously awaiting the results.



But hold it, we did not stop there.


Somebody had to physically make these frames.


We just knew there was a true artist behind it and we were not leaving without his creations. Master craftsman Yoichi.... His personal collection of handcrafted frames is coming to US for the first time.

Sure, these take awhile to produce, as each piece is so carefully assembled you'd think they are putting together the next generation of Mars Rovers. But you see, Japanese tradition cannot be hurried and we are willing to wait. Just like we were willing to wait for someone to come along and edit vintage Astro Boy with John Maus' sound.

We would travel through the sky...

Let's talk about REIZ

Like a stealth bomber REIZ design team have been causing serious havoc on international eyewear scene for the past several years. Energetic and dangerously talented, REIZ have created an underground fiend brand that does not just appeal to creative types, it makes them cry.

Johan and Franz pose with Eyewear of 2008 award at IOFT, below.


Designers' quest for perfect acetate eyewear is yielding incredible results and anyone holding a pair of REIZ spectacles will know in an instance it is a genuine article and it is build to last.

As far as the shapes go, we love the way REIZ styles evolve but always aim high and straight at the intellectual consumer. Details are discreet and tasteful, and branding is minimal.
Form and Presence is everything here and the new collection, straighforwardly named COLORS, is no exception.

Spectacles for Humans have been offering Lovely Animals Collection since April of 2007 and we see nothing but praise from our customers. Designers' take on classic black and crystal acetate combo is particularly intriguing, resulting in unusual, sort of suspended appearance.
The feedback REIZ have gotten from clients was overwhelming and expanding this theme was only natural.



Crafty COLORS manifest the best and the latest REIZ shapes in unique, custom color schemes. As usual REIZ did not hold back and neither did we did ... ordering the entire line up for January delivery.

Eyewear life in 2008

It is true, coming back to daily routine is not easy, especially after a superb week of enjoying the sights of Tokyo while searching for cool eyewear.

The IOFT, Asia's most exciting "all things eyewear" trade show, was a blast, a historical event for Spectacles for Humans in many ways, and Tokyo as a city was simply stunning.

The lights, the architecture, the people, the food...

Sadly not everything looked as inviting and promising as the specimen above, and when the little bistro at the show shut down for the night, many of attendees had to deal with crude local fair. And some of it was downright offensive, especially if you are from a deep fried frozen steak country.
There we were, wearing our brand spanking new Pradas and Marc Jacobs, as always, starring at barely alive half-shrimp/half-bird creature...Burghhh...That thing was definitely hooked up to something with rotors (a tiny defibrillator perhaps) to keep it breathing until it was time for it to head onto the plate of a local high roller.


Anyways...Hahah... Since we came back a whole week went by almost, and we still get weak in our knees thinking of delicately flavored fish and frothy Yebisu draft beer. Even ginger was unreal...



And don't let us forget the service! My God, Japanese know how to treat customers. From warm hand towels at the table (the moment you sit down) to warmed toilet seats, you are pampered from your head to your tail, literally.

OK, OK, enough about things of elementary nature; let's move on to the next, higher plateau. This way to enlightenment.


Enter and right away we know that coming back wasn't so bad after all. Having just scored some of the best new eyewear lines in the world, we at Spectacles for Humans are impressed with ourselves and have so much to look forward to in the next few months, we get goose bumps each time we think about all the cool designs we are about to showcase.

All of our new friends are excited about becoming part of Spectacles for Humans line-up as we are and in no time new collections will begin arriving. Ahead of the Japanese, believe or not, is our new freind Giovanni at Nico Design Studio.


Giovanni informed us today that our first shipment of DERAPAGE frames has already left Italy and of course we want to tell you a little bit more about them.

Being voted the Best Eyewear of 2008 for Function and Technology in Japan is no small potatoes and DERAPAGE totally gets our vote for that and more.
What makes these frames special is... pretty much everything.
First of all you will be drawn to the bridge-like structure you don't expect to see in a pair of spectacles. Reminding us of filigree, carefully etched layers assembled into impressive formation that is both elegant and imposing. And the best part, there is no soldering. Everything, and I mean all 37 components, are held together by rivets. Imagine, three different layers of best quality Swedish stainless steel are put together to form a smashing set of specs that is ultra-light, beautiful AND functional. Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you DERAPAGE.


Ironically, we struck the deal in Tokyo. Very cool!

To be continued...
Tomorrow we talk about REIZ. We simply have to because all day today we were bombarded with inquiries from all over - Canada, Australia...

Back from TOKYO!

We are back from IOFT and our hearts are still pounding from all the excitement and cool stuff we ordered. In fact, we think...NO, we are sure you will simply flip out when you see what's coming to Spectacles for Humans over the next couple of months.

SPIVVY... PROPODESIGN... SPEC ESPACE ... Ptolemy48....DERAPAGE...New Acetate Collection from ORGREEN ...
And hey, Spec Espace and PropoDesign are coming to the US for the first time!!


The same I believe is true for DERAPAGE, from Turin based Nico Design Studio. The frames are incredible examples of innovation, design and quality and it is our pleasure to be able to offer them at Spectacles for Humans. Stunning, and I will repeat it again, STUNNING!!




Too tired to talk about each new line in length right now, I promise a more detailed report in the next couple of days.

Off to Japan

Unsatisfied with local scene, we are off to explore the amazing world that is Japanese eyewear.
We'll be spending the next several days, entire week almost, talking sleek bevels, sexy curves and rust free hinges with some of the world's most incredible producers and craftsmen and we can hardly contain the excitement. Yes , we can get crazy as in "come home with me tonight, my Egyptian lover" about specs. There is no other way...

There are certain challenges when it comes to eyewear produced in Japan, yet we plan to break through racial fitting guidelines and hope to achieve new heights of comfort through careful modifications. Lines to watch are Spec Espace, Spivvy, Effector, PropoDesign....
We'll be talking about these a lot soon! hah-hah!
Look for live updates from Tokyo and stay tune for detailed reports! One thing is certain, Spectacles for Humans will never be the same.

While we are gone, enjoy some current sound from Beginner. Yes, we understand, German Rap may not be your typical background static, yet there is a time and a place for it, and it is here, at Spectacles for Humans, and now.

COLORS revealed (somewhat)

REIZ Augenspiel is starting to release details about their super-secret project and we are excited about taking a look (finally!) at the new styles during next week's trade show in Tokyo.

Preview from Graz Mulcahy

These are stunners, and we expect nothing less from Graz.

With delivery scheduled for mid-December, we suggest you have your agent book you a pair now. Keeping in mind there will be only 2 styles (we are saving the second one for later) and the fact we are getting only 5 pieces of each, these beauties certainly will not last long. Oh yeah, and there is a twist. We are free to charge anything we want ... or not charge at all...

With rules like these, we predict a riot.

MEYER Acetat frames arrive

And we are all drooling over these gorgeous frames!! Details later...

p.s. Details, as promised.

Model Frankfurt, below.



What makes Meyer frames special, you may ask? Everything, we say.
Besides the obvious technical know-how and disciplined execution on every level, from production to super subtle, under radar delivery, these guys know how to do it right. Yet it is the lines and curves we are captivated by the most. Out of the box approach to drawing shapes is absolutely incredible and it reflects a very talented group behind the project.
New and far from being a household name even in native Germany, Meyer frames have quite the following here in San Francisco. Your usual suspects, architect/designer crowd is always there first to faint over the stunning Reindeer horn temples, of course, but it is amazing to see in action how universal the good design can be and how it can affect people who don't necessarily come in contact with beautiful objects on a daily basis.