Hollywood Glam Store DÉCOR:

The Eye Gallery’s store design exudes luxury from top to bottom

By Erinn Morgan

Luxury eyewear veteran Pierre Keyser is at it again. This time around, he is bringing up a new breed of luxury with The Eye Gallery, which boasts 13 upscale eyewear stores nationwide.

With a background that includes a 15-year tenure with Cartier/Richemont and his work as the founder of the country’s largest luxury eyewear retailer, Luxury Optical Holdings, it’s no surprise that Keyser has a penchant for the bold and the beautiful that is evident in the store design of The Eye Gallery in West Hollywood’s Sunset Plaza.

“This new store epitomizes contemporary luxury,” says Keyser, who operates The Eye Gallery under the umbrella of his 90-store parent company, American Optical Services, of which he is founder and CEO. “The design makes products of all types easily accessible to the consumer. It creates a playful and enjoyable environment set in a truly memorable purchasing experience.”

A high-end address also helps the cause. “The Eye Gallery is located at the most fashionable address in Los Angeles where Angelinos and tourists from all over the world come to shop for luxury,” says Keyser.

Before the store became The Eye Gallery, it was previously owned and operated by another owner as a high-end optical shop. While much of the original architecture and design remains, the American Optical Services team, led by director of construction Rick Zavala, made improvements. “Our in-house construction team has in-depth experience in luxury boutique design, having built more than 50 locations in the U.S. over the past 20 years,” says Keyser.

Pierre Keyser’s latest shop, The Eye Gallery in Sunset Plaza, features the best of everything, from displays to lighting, to attract luxe consumers

GOING WITH THE FLOW

The shop’s wide, open design also enables an easy traffic flow, Zavala says. “You can basically can stand in that store and see from one end to the other,” he notes. “It’s very wide open so you can see all the brands.”

The goal with the open design? To create an easy-to-navigate comfort zone for shoppers. “It enables the consumer to easily move from one product line to another product line while maintaining a sense of comfort as they try on different frames,” says Keyser.

The shop’s uncluttered design helps highlight one of its best assets—a glimmering Italian marble floor. To further enable a comfortable traffic flow, the shop’s cash wrap is located in the center of the store. “This enables the customers to easily move around from case to case along the side walls,” says Keyser. In addition, two dispensing tables flank the register area.

While this location of The Eye Gallery is cozy with a selling floor that spans 820 square feet, Keyser says the size creates some allure. “The store concept in LosAngeles is a little smaller and more intimate,” he notes. “And that elevates the sense of discovery of the consumer.”

Plans are currently in the works to transition some small rooms in the back of the shop off the selling floor into an exam lane. “We are making plans right now to have an exam lane with a doctor who does exams and dispenses contacts,” says Zavala.

“Before it was an optical shop the store was a clothing store, and some little changing rooms in the back are really not functional for us. By eliminating those dressing rooms, we’ll be able to make a 12-foot, almost full-sized lane.”

A Star-Studded Debut

The Eye Gallery’s grand opening (clockwise from top: Julie Benz and Sheila Vance; Madison Keyser and Pierre Keyser; Vance and Keyser Luxury, talent, and fame collided when designers, actors, and stylists celebrated The Eye Gallery’s grand opening in December 2012. The Eye Gallery’s CEO Pierre Keyser was joined by co-hosts Sama Eyewear designer Sheila Vance, celebrity stylist Joey Tierney, The Hollywood Reporter’s Merle Ginsberg, style expert Lawrence Zarian, and jewelry designer Loree Rodkin. Celebrity attendees included actress Julie Benz, Tracey Ross, Amanda Luttrell Garrigus, Marc Blanchard, Tony Schubert, and Joanne Horowitz. The event benefitted the New Eyes Foundation, which has brought improved vision to more than seven million people in the U.S. and around the world with the help of doctors, grantors, volunteers, social service agencies, and optical dispensers.

SHOWCASING FRAMES

The Eye Gallery’s opening soiree featured the limited-edition, diamond- and sapphire-encrusted $60,000 “Magic Hour” frame from Sama Eyewear. With highly luxurious, bespoke pieces such as this in the mix, frame display has been elevated to an art form at The Eye Gallery.

“The displays are all custom built with a great emphasis on lighting, which was developed over the years,” says Keyser. In fact, all of the shop’s frames are displayed in large, custom-millwork showcases that feature locking glass doors.

“All cases have a number of glass shelves and a bottom area used to display frames,” says Zavala. “They all also have glass locking doors because shrinkage can be tough with these types of products.”

Three of these large, custom cases line the two side walls of the shop, and between the cases sit dark cherry wood columns used for storage.

“The contrast between the dark wood and the large, white display cases really makes this shop pop,” says Zavala.

The Eye Gallery store also utilizes special glass display cubes for showstopping frames or of-the-moment trends.

“We have several of these display cubes in the storefront windows so we are able to display special, limited-edition eyewear items,” says Zavala. “These were already in the store when it was purchased, but we make these in house as well. Pierre calls it a jewelry case that’s meant for one pair of glasses. Inside, it’s got LED lights and a pillow for the eyewear.”

When preparing the new The Eye Gallery for its grand opening, Keyser called for a lighting change. Notes Zavala, “Pierre doesn’t like lights with a strong yellowish tint, so we changed all the light bulbs to a slightly different color light and it makes the glasses sparkle much more.” EB