It’s Monday and I’m collecting my thoughts about 3 full on days we had at Opti Munich. This is another trade show where the finest people in the world creating hand-made, niche eyewear show us the very best they can do for us. If you love spectacles as much as we do then this sounds like fun, and it is; but it does make you tired. We flew back last night to Manchester to discover it was a bit warmer than the -8 we were almost getting used to out there. I dropped Nick at his house in Bradford and managed to get to mine just after 1am. Thoughts of “did we pick the right stock?”, ”did we buy enough?/too much?” didn’t get in the way of really sound sleep at all.
We didn’t really see much of Munich but I’m told its worth a visit and I may well go back but swap the business cards for the snowboard. Each morning on the subway there were so many folks with skis heading out to the mountains for the day and I was nearly envious… but not for long. We got to the show on Friday morning and we were not disappointed. It has a different feel to Paris and Milan as it’s a bit more laid back; (always good with me).
Nareece had researched a lot of the exhibitors and had organised us properly with a list of appointments to attend each day and she picked some belters!
Now call me a killjoy but Nick will tell you about a rule I insist on when we’re at these shows that says NO DRINKING TILL 6PM. As soon as you sit down to look at a collection with any brand there they will, regardless of the time, offer you beer, hard spirits and cocktails. We learned the hard way on our first visit to the Milan show a few years ago that this is no way to do proper business. On each appointment we settle for black coffee or water (much to the disappointment of the rep). This really helps us stay focussed on what we need and puts us in control of the decisions we have to make. Nick always tries to make me feel bad about this but I will not budge on it. Between you and me I think he agrees with the rule but don’t ask him about it.
Overall there were some great results from the meetings we had. We met South African designer David Green who makes amazing frames incorporating flowers, plants, leaves, tree bark and other natural resources from where he lives near Cape Town.We met the creative director from Visiva and saw his collection of exciting Italian acetates with stunning laser cut titanium bridge pieces. We’re proud to say we are the sole stockists of these lovely glasses in the UK. That is really what we’re looking for when we go to these events; we want to give you something special that no one else will be wearing. The new Theo collection is super colourful and we’ve decided to put some of it in Lindley but the main collection will still live at the Piece Hall. Really classy offerings from Lindberg as we’ve come to expect from them.
Seriously.… if you’ve never tried a Lindberg on then put it on your list of great things to do. (We’ll even make you a decent cuppa while you’re at it).
If you’re a vinyl fan, and there are more of you out there than I first thought, we have got something very exciting coming to the boutique very soon… especially if you’re a fan of AC/DC… that’s all we’re saying right now.
We took three more great collections but I’m running out of space trying to tell you about them all. The best thing to do is call us and book in to see one of us and we will make you a great coffee or your selection from our tea library, to enjoy while you try on everything that you’re drawn to – you never know, you may be the first person in the UK to wear the frame…how’s that for exclusive! All in the no pressure, take-as-long-as-you-like world that is Bottomleys. You choose the place you prefer – The Old Town Hall, Lindley or the Piece Hall. Either way we’ll be happy to see you.
