Glance Optics and Eyewear Review

By Dave Sweeny, reprinted from Salem Business Journal, September 2010

World Class, Internationally Renown, Cutting Edge Design...you would normally expect to find these wonderfully complimentary and highly coveted phrases to be found describing a business or shop in say London or Paris or New York or Rome. But right here in Salem...Salem, Oregon? Yes...right here! And the shop they apply to is Glance Optics and Eyewear. They not only apply to Glance, they define Glance. Located at 330 Court Street NE, all you have to do is step inside and you’ve walked into a unique, stylish, high quality (very high quality) European (style) Eyewear boutique. Except this charming slice of the continent is located right here in Salem.

Now when you do walk into Glance (and you really owe it to yourself to spend some time there) check out the latest issue of “Eye Bizz” magazine on the counter. This high-end and highly regarded glossy German publication is devoted entirely to beautiful eyewear from around the globe (You can get an advanced look at the article...in both German & English...on the (new) Glance website: www.glanceglasses.com). In each issue the publishers profile just one shop from somewhere in the (fashion) world. The last three issues have featured shops from Copenhagen, Leipzig and Berlin. In this latest issue (Sept./Oct 09), this cosmopolitan barometer of high fashion eyewear didn’t profile a shop in Amsterdam, or Brussels, or Madrid or Geneva. They came to Salem, Oregon...and profiled Glance! And they chose to profile Glance Optics and Eyewear for very good reason. With frames from France, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands (and one US), and others Glance owner/operator Lisa Martinsson carries arguably the most complete and extensive collection of fashion orward eyewear to be found anywhere in the Northwest... and possibly the West Coast.

And it’s not just her frames that make a trip to Glance a unique experience, it’s also Lisa herself. For one thing, she has a degree in Graphic Design but, as she puts it, “I was (after college) really an artist without a medium. I’d rather paint a house than a picture.” But, not exactly motivated to become a house painter, Lisa became an optician and began running the “glasses business” for a team of six doctors. It was there that she discovered her true calling (and artistic medium)...the relationship between the frames and the face. And it is through her work as an optician that she expresses her art and creativity in a deeply personal way.

She told me the story of a young girl who, with her mom, came into her shop one day. Frustrated during her short twelve years of life over poorly chosen and ill-fitting glasses (and reminding Lisa of her own battles with bad eyewear) the young girl and Lisa talked, and shared, and laughed, and tried on lots of new frames. And when the young girl later returned to pick up her new glasses, Lisa remembers, tears now welling up in her own eyes, she looked in the mirror and whispered, “I’m pretty.” In short, she cares...a lot about her clients. She both listens to them and advises them. But, most importantly, she consults with them.

She points out, “It’s amazing really, while some frames can create gravity...some actually defy it.” Each face, as Lisa will tell you, is unique and individual and she will show you not only how a frame should fit on your face...but why. Very personable, very engaging, knowledgeable and smart (very), she will also tell you when a frame doesn’t work for you. “I frame the ‘art work’ and the eyes are the art work,” she says. “If the frame doesn’t enhance the ‘art’, it doesn’t work. I’m always looking for eyewear that has staying power. Something that makes people do a double take and wonder, ‘Where did they get those?”

And then there’s the frame’s engineering. “I’m a sucker for good engineering,” she says. And she is too. Very detail oriented, she delights in demonstrating the intricacies of her unique frames to her customers. Ask her to show you the distinctive drill mounts of the Silhouette frames (from Austria) and how they add extra strength and integrity to these Titanium beauties...or the grooved lenses of the feather-light Marcus T. frames (from Germany) and how they allow the frames to be seated within the lenses themselves using no screws and no hinges at all (along with the unique nose pad which synchs and holds all the elements in place)...or the floating lenses of the XIT frames (from France)...or even the totally unique and really really cool THEO frames (from Belgium). As Lisa puts it, the THEO frames are, “an art form all to themselves. Nobody copies THEO.” (pronounced Tay Oh).

And what will you find when you walk through Lisa’s door? A lot of class. To start with, the entire front of the shop is glass. Sixteen feet of floor to ceiling (windows and door) glass. Then there’s the clean lines of the cherry cabinets and paneling. The brushed metal accents of the display cases. The comfortable (leather) seating. And mirrors...mirrors everywhere! In fact, Portland architect Richard Brown, won an award for his design of the shop.

The frames themselves? Well, let’s see. There are shelves of frames...and more shelves of frames, drawers of frames, display cases of frames and a wall of sunglasses (including the Rudy Project sunglasses (from Italy) prized by bicyclists and sportsmen and the Persol sunglasses (also Italian) worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond). Yes, you will definitely find a treasure trove of very distinctive frames at Glance!

Now have I mentioned unique? During one of my visits to her shop one of Lisa’s customers told me, “People are always asking me where I get my glasses...and nobody believes me when I tell them Salem, Oregon. I’ve been to Europe and thought I could get them cheaper in London...I can’t.” Another customer was on an airplane when she noticed the glasses of a flight attendant. As the two women discussed the distinctive style of each others glasses the flight attendant said, “You’re not going to believe where I got these.” You guessed it, both women had purchased their glasses from Glance! And these stories are not unique. Lisa has one customer from San Francisco that discovered her shop while in town on business. Now he refuses to shop for eyewear anywhere else. Her glasses can even be found in the White House.

Do yourself a favor. Take some time and spend it browsing this one-of-a-kind Eyewear Boutique and getting to know Lisa (most of her customers are on a first name basis). It’s a fascinating experience that may just discover a whole new you.

Glance Eyewear is not just a reason to smile...it’s a way to look good doing it!

Footnote: The Glance website is newly remodeled: www.glanceglasses.com. Take a look...it’s way cool! There’s even a place for you to write a testimonial if you like.

Dave Sweeney, former KOIN-TV chief meteorologist, is a popular conference and convention speaker and emcee. Dave also produces personalized videos for business websites and email links. He is the chief meteorologist for OregonLive.com and produces video weather forecasts for a variety of other websites including KBZY.com, HallmarkInns.com, OregonStqateFair.org and others. You can check out his website at www.SweeneyTV.com and reach him by email at Dave@SweeneyTV.com

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