The Miracle of Wood
Game over. Yesterday, through some act of fate I stumbled upon the website for Herrlicht. It appears they make wooden eyeglass frames and wooden bicycles (yep, bicycles). The frames appear to be light and durable, made of either cherry or maple and available in black(!). Admittedly, a couple of models look like safety goggles. Either way, they are all wood. As in, no metal...pins or nose piece or anything. All. Wood. Not that cheap and long-lasting petroplastic stuff. Wood. Mr. Herrlicht himself kindly responded to my query on U.S. retailers, and hopes to have these handmade frames in a shop in Washington sometime this summer. I'll keep everyone posted, but I hope to have the first pair *evil grin*.As you know I love all things wood, so on my weekly trip to the local Franklin's Brewery to pick up a box of Abita microbrew (help Maryland and New Orleans businesses, ya'll), I stopped by Well's Woodworking to tell the guys there about Herrlicht. These folks are professional woodworkers of the highest order, and seemed quite enamored so that must mean something. The name "woodworkers" might even be a misnomer; "wood magicians" seems more apropos. (And yes they're working on a nice set of custom bamboo cabinets for a mansion in Mclean, Virginia. That's why they rock. I love bamboo, it's so grasserific.) Check out this set from AlterEco (courtesy treehugger.com); high-end and ecologically intelligent. This past summer, seems that most of the homes in the Solar Decathlon featured either bamboo or wheatboard cabinets. Swank.
{UPDATE}: 02.22.06 - Andreas wrote back today with a price estimate (oh, Andreas is Mr. Licht, for those of you commoners who can't name him as one of your many friends-via-email-only, as I can). They retail for about €1000, so at today's exchange rate that's about $1,191.18 USD. Not cheap, but not out of the realm of possibility either, especially for hand-crafted pieces of art that also allow you to see. He's not sure the price points will be the same but they're working on it. I have a list of retailers in California, if you're interested.
posted by ek at
9:48 PM
6 Comments:
bourgie hippie geek.
i want a pair of wood glasses. fly and eco friendly...i'm a fan.
Apparently herrlicht isnt the only one making wooden glasses.
I happened to bump into this Italian site: www.archipendolo.com
They're not 100% wood though but also nice.
Maybe I can save myself the 1000 euros and make one out of popsicle sticks.
interesting frames cookie. they don't have the characteristic curves of the herrlicht though. funny, isn't that what italians are known for? either way, thanks for the link. the more wooden frames the better.
Nice find. Are you familiar with IC Berlin glasses? Made entirely from laser cut metals and feature no screws as well.
http://www.icberlin.com/
Those Germans are pretty crafty with their eye wear.
Very impressive. I generally avoid glasses like Yersinia pestis, but you know, I could see myself wearing a nifty pair of black wooden frames. I wonder about the weight though.
Venturing off track...I came across this contest yesterday and immediately thought of you:
http://www.urbanrevision.com/index.php
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