Two Hillcrest businesses have joined their creative juices and are planning to serve up a stylish, eye-popping event that will function as both a charity fundraiser and a celebration.<\/p>\n
Urban Optiks Optometry will present \u201cRaise Your Glasses\u201d \u2014 a vendor trunk show expo \u2014 on Feb. 24 from 5 \u2013\u00a09 p.m. at Martinis Above Fourth.<\/p>\n
The expo will showcase 13 of Urban Optiks\u2019 18 exclusive vendors, all coming together in one place to raise money for Optometry Cares, a nonprofit arm of the American Optometric Association (AOA) that offers eye exams and services to underserved individuals and assessments for infants born with eye issues.<\/p>\n Dr. Gary Klein, optometrist and proprietor of Urban Optiks, is excited about the expo, which will also celebrate the patients who have supported his business over the past seven years. He hopes to make it an annual event benefitting a different eye care-related charity each year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first time we\u2019ve done a trunk show outside of Urban Optiks, and we\u2019ve never done anything this large before,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is big. [Trunk shows] are usually a buying experience for people who are in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n Generally, Klein said, when a trunk show is offered for the public, it\u2019s done at the retail store with one vendor\u2019s frame line, without competition. At the \u201cRaise Your Glass\u201d event, however, 11 different frame vendors will be participating side-by-side in a layout that encourages attendees to move from table to table talking to each vendor and perusing hundreds of frames \u2014 many manufactured in Paris \u2014 while enjoying live entertainment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really a rare treat that the vendors would all get together and do something like this,\u201d Klein said.<\/p>\n In addition, two high-definition digital lens manufacturers, Shamir Optical and Carl Zeiss Vision, will be on hand to explain the technology behind their high quality lenses.<\/p>\n \u201cReally this whole thing snowballed because actually it\u2019s our seventh anniversary at Urban Optiks, so we wanted to have sort of a celebration and a \u2018thank you\u2019 to our patients for those years. We thought, \u2018What can we do that\u2019s fun? Let\u2019s try to get a trunk show together and see if all our of our vendors who have supported us would be willing to do that,\u2019 and they were all on board about it,\u201d Klein said, adding that finding a worthy and relevant charity was the next thing on the agenda.<\/p>\n The theme came together progressively. \u201cRaise your [martini] glasses\u201d to celebrate the anniversary, \u201craise\u201d awareness to eye health issues and raise money for those in need.<\/p>\n Klein is proud of the four ways he said Urban Optiks \u201credefines eyecare\u201d \u2014 fashion: with classic, modern and vintage-inspired frames from all over the world; technology: the latest in diagnostic and digital lens equipment; expertise: a highly skilled staff; and experience: personalized attention and care.<\/p>\n Four opticians round out the staff at Urban Optiks: Kristy Cambone, Nathan Caracter, Erika Caesar and Holly Linden. All will participate in the trunk show on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n One would never know they are walking into an eye doctor\u2019s office from the care Klein and his staff have taken to create a warm and inviting space in the Cairo building on Park Boulevard. Klein calls the motif \u201ctechnology meets vintage.\u201d Klein\u2019s high-tech examination area is hidden from view, but it too is a primary focus of his practice.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is all boutique; this is special,\u201d Klein said. \u201cThis was a commitment to bringing in the best eye wear and the best technology available together in one location. You can\u2019t be everything to everybody, but if someone is looking for something unique and different, of high quality and they want to get the best vision possible with the lenses we use, that\u2019s what we\u2019re about.<\/p>\n People wear their glasses every day they want them to look good and to last,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Vendors participating at the trunk show include: Gold & Wood Paris, Tom Davies London, Face a Face Paris, Anne et Valentin Paris, ic! Berlin Germany, i.a.eyeworks USA, Claire Goldsmith London, Oliver Goldsmith London, Traction Productions Paris, Booth & Bruce England and Matsuda Japan.<\/p>\n The event will kick off with a \u201cVery Important Patient\u201d (VIP) reception from 5 \u2013\u00a07 p.m. with hosted hors d\u2019oeuvres, cocktails and a pre-expo shopping experience to thank patients for their years of patronage. Others wishing to attend the VIP reception can do so for $15.<\/p>\n The trunk show itself, free to the public, runs from 7 \u2013 9 p.m.<\/p>\n Martinis Above Fourth is located at 3940 Fourth Ave., on the second floor. For more information and to register, visit urban-optiks.com\/raise<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"DSCN3866web\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/DSCN3866web.jpg\")
(Foto por Morgan M. Hurley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"Glasses](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/DSCN3874web.jpg\")