June 2009 Entries
This has got to be one of the best cities in the world!
I LOVE Chicago. I can’t believe I’m only here for a few days, I actually told my wife we could move here, you know, when we are ready to set up the USA office (just for a few months you understand).
She seemed to favour LA. Anyway, this is a great city and will be a fantastic place for us as business grows.
We already have several accounts here and they are some of the best in the US.
As soon as I got off the plane, I went to this account to do a trunk show. This is another Occhiali account (only in name). Once again I had a great time telling them about our offer. It is such a pleasure to turn up somewhere and tell them about our company. No one in the world can do what we are doing and the only reason we are able to open and grow in accounts at the moment, is for this reason. 
Again I did 10 consultations, sold some horn frames and generally had a good time with the staff. There is a lady there called Cho Bird (that's not her real name, just her lazer engraved name) and I designed her a frame with a hand sketch which I’ve just checked on the system, and it is looking fantastic. I love this job!
Here you can see myself and Nathan (our US mid west rep) enjoying some refined American cuisine (my kingdom for some carrots) on the top of a luxury hotel and social hot spot.
I also met up with an old friend and went to see the Cubs vs the White Soxs. That was one of the best days out I’ve had this year. Thank God he brought me some sun cream..... the weather is fantastic (and look at these seats, all I can say is that there is a food vendor in really great sunglasses right now!). 
In the evening I met with an Opticain for drinks (a prospect). This morning he is now a customer. What can I say, sales is almost as fun as designing, especially when you are selling our product!
Before I move on to Chicago (from where I am about to leave), I have to just post a few more piccies from Dallas. One of the best parts of this trip has been to spend some time with the different people selling my product. With the enthusiasm from the guys at Habackers Fine Eyewear (one Optician postponed an operation to be there!) to the professionalism of Rick at Occhiali, I have learnt more about TD Tom Davies than I thought possible i.e. I thought I knew quite a lot about different face shapes, fitting and individual markets, but I have picked up such valuable information from the people here, that you will all see a marked improvement in our product and service over the coming year.
So a big Thank You to all I’ve met so far (but I’m only half way through!).
This lady won a competition at Occhiali to see me and sent me this lovely picture today (this is the before photo, I'll post the afterwards when she has her new glasses).
Here I am at Uptown Vision, my last stop in Dallas. I had a great time here, one of the most fun events I’ve done. The frozen margaritas helped keep the atmosphere light and almost resulted in skill exchange, which I might have regretted.
Here you can see me fitting a Bespoke frame to a customer. He is a plastic surgeon and we found that we were both looking at the same facial features and visual tricks to bring balance to his face. If we had both not drunk a few too many frozen margaritas, he was going to go off and get some Botox for me, in swap for a free pair of bins. I found the offer slightly alarming and alluring at the same time. First of all, I’m used to people calling me a young designer (so I obviously don’t need Botox... ahem) and second of all, I rather liked the idea.
Fortunately my sixth sense (I could hear my wife's voice in my head) kicked in and I bottled it!
Here you can see Dr Bill doing an impression of Wonder Woman (you will just have to take my word for it, it was most amusing).
Finally, here is the team from Uptown vision. We did a four hour stretch and sold ten Bespoke frames, including several horn frames. Here you can see the World Tour Round Horn Sunglass. I’ve sold it around eight times so far (and it is $1,000 a pop).
And one last frame, this was a bespoke for an existing customer. I rather liked it, so I took a photo!
I’ve not managed to keep my blog up to date. I can only say that the past three days have been some of the most intense, rewarding and exhausting few days in my career.
With the Shenzhen jet lag still fresh, the San Francisco jet lag was a new experience for me. Follow this by four days of a whirlwind Catherine Turissini style and you start to enter a new alternative dimension. I’m in Chicago but I simply can’t update my blog for today (which was a great day), without doing justice to the past few days... so you will have to wait!
Here is the lovely Star De Azlan. An up-and-coming Country and Western Star, who was fitted for a fantastic Tom Davies Sunglass. I also fitted Grammy Award Winning Bryan White during a world record of a day.
 So this was last Thursday and I met with three Opticians and during the day fitted 40 Bespoke consultations!!!!! A record never to be repeated!
Many more photos from the three Opticians will be posted as soon as they are emailed to me from the accounts. I was so busy I didn’t actually take any myself but I do want to say a big thank you to all three accounts who made the day possible and I’ll post full details and more pics tomorrow.
Catherine here, hob nobbing with the stars.
In the meantime, here is some of the wonderful press to have a look at from the Occhiali event. They hired a fantastic PR chap called Jef, who created such a media buzz that I was feeling rather glamorous (for a humble spectacle designer). These are just a few. I’ll try and post some of the magazines and papers later with the rest of the pictures in a few days.
Links
Here is Jef himself, with the TD frame I am going to re-design for him. Many people have promised to send me photos when they get their frames, so I’ll post these in around a month’s time.
Also, check back to this post in a few days and you will see many more photos from the day. I'll also have a few Thank Yous for some of the wonderful people and accounts I've met (but better in pictures!).
I just need to post this quickly. I am putting together my blog for Thursday and I read this piece by a lady I fitted in Dallas. I think she sums up what I'm trying to do perfectly..
http://shoptalk.dmagazine.com/2009/06/26/tom-davies-event-a-recap/
Here at ShopTalk we’ve given a lot of press to Tom Davies and his fashionable eyewear. First it was a Q&A with the man himself. Then it was a Friday Giveaway featuring a pair of his frames. Mostly, this was because I thought his glasses looked sleek and stylish and because the custom-fit concept intrigued me. But until I had a personal consultation of my own, even I didn’t know my hype was so well deserved. Plus, I’m pretty sure Tom (I call him Tom) is my soul mate. Jump for my recap of the eyewear designer’s meet-and-greet at Occhiali Modern Optics last night.
When I arrived at Occhiali yesterday a little before 5, the place was already filling up, and Tom was in the midst of his first fitting. Glancing from the corner of my eye, I could see him put a sample frame on his client, then lean back and stare. His face serious and his pace quick (though not quick enough to fit his consult into the allotted 10-minute slot), he used measuring devices to gauge a number of facial features: head width, nose width, etc. It all seemed very technical.
I was in the market for a new pair of sunglasses, so I tried on a few styles and eventually settled on a pair I liked. As I waited for my turn with Tom, more vision-impaired and style-conscious souls filed into the small store—including one woman who came not to purchase new frames but simply to extol the virtues of her current Tom Davies glasses to the folks around her. She was adamant. I believed her.
Then my time came. I’m not sure what I expected, but I can tell you I did not expect such passion and perfection. Tom agreed that the frame I had chosen worked well with my coloring. Then he went to work. The nose piece was too small for my bridge. The lenses were too long yet also too narrow. Tom said he was going to have to make more adjustments than he usually likes to. Suddenly I was a problem child. Then, with the following exchange, Tom officially cemented my love.
Me: Maybe I should go with a different frame.
Tom: But don’t you like this frame?
Me: Yes.
Tom: Then you should have it.
So I did. My new shades should arrive in the next month or so. They will be made just for me, to my specifications. No one else will have a pair like them. And, as if that weren’t enough, my name will be etched inside the earpiece. It’s going to require a lot of work. But what can you do? It’s what I wanted.
Tom Davies, I like the way you think.
I’m sitting in the car heading out of Houston after a whirlwind 24 hours doing my best with modern technology to get this blog up for you all.
I have to say I’m having a great time (is this work?) and this is made possible by some of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. I thought I was enthusiastic but I just melt in with the crowd here.
Let me start from the beginning of the day. I opened the curtains to this view of Houston.
The hotel further impressed as you exited the room and into this beehive-like atrium. Most impressive.
Catherine and I left for our first appointment in the morning at around 9:30am. Today we’ve seen two of our accounts and two more potential accounts. Catherine wanted my help to convert them from Maybes to Orders. I always prefer to wait for the signature but it seems we were successful.
This gentlemen here, Wes, from Spectacles on Montrose is one of the first US accounts to take our Tailored. I was delighted when he said the following during our chat “Tom Davies and J.F. Rey are my best lines. Tom Davies is my most profitable. It’s easy to sell and it’s my bread and butter.” I liked that statement so much I took his picture.
We’ve just left TSO Cypress where we did a four hour training. They have just taken the brand on and I can really see them turning in to a great account for us. They seemed to understand all the points, created a few Tailored jobs while we were there and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they develop over the next few years.
Right, it's a four hour to drive to Dallas (despite what Catherine says) so it's time to kick back and relax...
The Californian sun was glorious and my only regret of the trip so far was not to spend more time basking in it. In fact, this has just moved top of the wish list for my next holiday.
This is such a lovely place, great scenery, weather, culture and people. I’ve loved every minute I’ve been here.
I’m about to leave for the airport but, before I go, I just wanted to post these images from yesterday’s event.
Here is Anna in one of her fabulous stores (she has two). I can see why they are successful. Anna runs a tight ship and has some knowledgeable, enthusiastic staff.
Here we all are together at the end of the day. It was amazing, I’d only been there eight hours but I felt like one of the team. If the rest of my American leg of the tour is like this, I’m in for a treat. It was a really fun day and we made some amazing frames, including several horn frames (and my World Tour Horn Sunglass...twice). What a great start!
I just arrived and made the part of the film I needed to. I then met some great guys in a bar over from the hotel. They have shown me the local brew... and thus... this blog is more pictures than content...
 
I arrived at the workshop seven days ago with two real projects. One, develop lots of exciting new frames. Two, film a new Design School film. I have just left and am on my way home. I have designed 23 new sunglasses for September (three of which are horn which were designed and produced in time for me to bring to America and Europe with me) and have designed some new cabinets to put in Opticians' stores to promote Bespoke (like a big free-standing unit to hold our colours and tools). I have designed 24 new Fitting Templates, signed off two new Acetate colours, designed 30 new optical frames, worked on the NEW supertool (going live any day now...) and also spent four days filming.
Here you can see me shooting the opening scene in Shenzhen as I introduce the viewer to our Workshop.
I stuck out like a sore thumb with my shirt and tie (30 deg), but one tries to look one's best for the company.
Here I am introducing the ION plating machine. It is an incredible piece of kit (you'll have to wait for the film for the full details!).
This is the Pioneer group. The first staff in our China office and workshop. These guys were with us from day one and have a special place in the business (hence the slap up dinner I took them out for).
As I go around the workshop floor I always look at the bespoke production. Sometimes a real gem will just jump out at me and say "put me in the collection Tom!". I took a photo of this frame as I thought it looked simply amazing. This kind of market feedback is really changing the TD collection. It gets better and better each month.
This is a little naughty of me but I just can't help it. These are frames I just signed off for production yesterday. Based on the up-and-coming T-joint, these are the best frames I've EVER designed (except that horn sunglass, that is just a limited edition World Tour bonus).
  
Dear All,
I am so damn busy that I didn’t get a chance to announce my world tour on my blog before I even set off on it.
I am currently in the factory and have grabbed a few moments between rushing bodies and stressed workers (since I’ve dished out a month’s work to be completed for Monday) and I just want to quickly kick off my World Tour Blog.
I’m going to put up lots of lovely photos and keep you all up to date over the next few months, so keep an eye on the blog...
New Colours
Today I signed off two new colours for a September launch. The long awaited TD Red and the “no one is ever going to use” white colour.
Red is a really difficult colour to produce and the reason for its absence in the collection has primarily been my refusal to compromise on quality. Every red we have made has failed our strict QC since we could only achieve a bright red through spraying. All our experiments with water based plating were too dull.... until my production manager sent me version 23, with a small note “how about this one?”.
The white is also a hard colour to get because the covering always seems inconsistent. However, this is only version 3 before I signed it off. You can expect to see it in details rather than full frames but, as a Bespoke brand, it is a colour we are asked for and need to offer.
I made my sonny boy a Bespoke Sunglass last week. I’ve been out with him four times and I’ve had six people stop me (or Oscar) to ask or comment on the frame. Surely the market for Bespoke children’s frames is not worth bothering with.... but he looks fab, they have great lenses and they really stay in position. I’m seriously considering a special offer for a mini version of a Bespoke Sunglass (for the parents' child) at cut price for next summer...
This little girl stole my son's glasses and posed for them. The mother has asked me to make her a pair.
Finally, Steve, our new East coast rep from America has been training with us for three days. Last night I took him to my favourite bar on the river in Richmond for sunset beers. This is a German beer garden and, whilst we only had two beers, well, you can see the size of them... neither of us has complained about sore heads this morning but...
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