CUTLER AND GROSS: VISION & STYLE

…..whereas the majority of brands would use their eyewear collection as a vehicle to promote their own brand image – slapping a flashy logo near the hindge for all the world to witness – Cutler and Gross hides their gold foil logo on the inside, near the right-hand hinge.

…a design mark notable by its absence.  Rather than the logo becoming a gaudy promotional sticker telegraphing the label’s luxury, their glasses keep a quiet elegance about them, a sort of firm yet graceful classicism that loyal customers speak of fondly.

Last week I read an article from the Wall Street Journal that very much resonated with me in terms of my business and my close relationship with Japan.  It was after speaking with various Japanese friends and business associates that I decided to post the words from this article.  As much as the article brought tears to my eyes, last night’s conversation with an optician in Tokyo led me again to realize the untouchable and preserving minds of my Japanese colleagues, family, and friends.

I am very much looking forwards to the flight back to Tokyo next week.

Reported by the Wall Street Journal on 4/19/11 from Kesennuma, Japan, also home to a close family friend:

Jun Koizumi’s family ran an eyeglass shop on a main street here for the past 82 years, until tsunami waves ripped through town last month, leaving a trail of gutted buildings and wreckage.  Now to get by he sells snacks to passerby from the remains of his store.

His inventory: Three cans of Campbell’s soup, a few containers of tea and canned coffee and some hand-packed lunches made by a friend, including fried noodles with vegetables selling for about $2.50 each.

It isn’t much of a substitute for the family business, which now is reduced to a muddy patient’s chair, an eye chart leaned up against the wall, and a few drawers filled with office supplies. The walls of the building are intact, but they slid sideways across the foundation when waves rose nearly to the ceiling. There’s no electricity or water yet.

“I’d like to start again,” said Mr. Koizumi, 45 years old, as his wife and two children stood nearby. But he doesn’t really know how because he doesn’t have the money. “I want to wait for further support and details before I make a plan,” he said.

Slowly?  Yes.

But rebuild Japan?

Yes Koizumi-san.  We will.  Together.

Today I freemonted around the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, WA.  It is a beautiful and limitless area of Seattle that sits peacefully along Lake Washington’s Ship Canal.

The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the City of Seattle, Washington, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Ship Canal includes a series of locks, modeled after the Panama Canal, to accommodate the different water levels between Lake Washington and the Sound. The Canal runs east/west, and connects Union Bay, Lake Union, the Montlake Cut, Portage Bay, the Fremont Cut, Salmon Bay, and Shilshole Bay, with the Sound, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. (Wiki)

The sunlight today at 5 pm was perfect.

by Darwinfish105

As a kid growing up in Massachusetts I always loved checking the houses around my neighborhood.  I would stare at each home and think to myself “which bedroom will be mine?”  It was an adventure going into ‘FOR SALE’ locations with my Pop, and even checking the local newspaper for new listings.  I loved reading about the houses, what they offered, the kitchens, and the size of the lots.  I would think again “can I play kickball in that yard?” or “can me and my brother have a solid soccer pass out front?”

Here in Seattle, the hilly streets of Queen Anne are painted with beautifully landscaped, cascading homes.  I myself live in a much more quaint abode, yet these are my new neighbors.  Hopefully someday I too will have my home overlooking the Puget Sound.  Someday…

Daily I am awed by the vast nature surrounding me.  The “beautiful Northwest” truly lives up to the phrase.

A simple Saturday in April:

From the second I walk outside to pick up the newspaper:  that first breath of fresh morning air, spring sounds, the view of the Puget Sound.

Walking up the steep hills of Queen Anne to TEACUP.  I instantly melt into the high ceilinged, tall windowed, and wooden tabled cafe with my book.

Late afternoon: a jog and then a cool walk through the hilly neighborhood taking photos of what I love about this place.

I define myself very much as a east coast kid but as of lately I can’t hide the fact that I have fallen madly in love with Seattle.

This city settles me into the calmest of heartbeats.  The sight, smell, and sounds of the waterways and basins relax my mind, the picturesque cityscape boarded by sculptured mountains I never knew existed in North America….

Spring is here in Seattle.