What is the most underrated cosmetic enhancement?

Eyeglasses.

Think about it: millions of people wear glasses and yet most only have one pair, perhaps with a sunglass alternate. And yet, most people wear their glasses day in day out, in the office, while working out, at a black-tie affair, and while just flopped on the couch watching television.

Richard mewha and rick nelson think about this a lot, which makes sense as theyre in the eyewear business and founded their own eye frame company, bevel, in 1999. They're committed to making eyewear as essential to personal style and self-esteem as apparel or cosmetics. After all, while wearing prescription lenses corrects an optical need, it also brings attention to a primary asset: the face. Eyeglasses are universal, not gender specific, easy to maintain, and play a crucial role in our lives and daily discourse.

During the 1990s, Richard and Rick were colleagues at the optical shop of aspen (osa) and began seeking out one anothers' advice and relying on each other as sounding boards. Their professional friendship seemed unlikely aside from their name, on the surface they appeared to have little in common. Richard, with the easy demeanor of the international traveler, is english, loves living in new york city, and enjoys independent music and film and classic literature. Rick, meanwhile, is a clean-cut all-american, born, raised and still residing in suburban kansas city, having learned the fundamentals of the eyewear business working behind the counter of his fathers optical shop.

The two recognized their differences would be a strength in establishing a business together. Through his work with osa and alain mikli before that, richard was confident his modern, minimalist design esthetic would appeal to customers. Both men were determined to create a company that opticians would enjoy dealing with. By establishing the headquarters in kansas city, rick knew he could find employees with the midwestern warmth and sensibility to ensure outstanding customer service.

While Richard focuses on design, keeping up with the cultural zeitgeist, esthetic trends and opportunities for international growth, Rick ensures that all other facets of the business are running smoothly. Neither wants the brand to be the coolest or hottest or most recognizable. Instead they're committed to maintaining a classic but minimalist esthetic, using truly high-quality materials with japanese production, and constantly seeking innovation so glasses look, fit, and perform better.

Through it all they strive to meet their ultimate goal: to help people feel good about themselves by making them look great. If everyone wore bevel frames, the world would definitely be a better-looking place in more ways than one.

 

BEVEL SPRING 2012- 16 NEW STYLES

 

A FIRST DESIGN PATENT

After two years of development, we are launching a full beta-hinge/temple design, the next level of our own titanium flex hinge, this time on an ACETATE frame.

 

The secret is a one-piece beta hinge carried thru the core of the temple. This allows for flexibility while carrying over the “notch-design element” from our previous collections, which is now the basis for our design patent.

 

ACETATE- 5 new shapes. 3 include the new beta hinge. In total, 2 Men’s, 2 Women’s and 1 small unisex.

 

TITAN- 6 new styles. 1 small man’s, 1 petite woman’s , 3 medium woman’s and 1 small semi-rimless style.

 

SUN- 5 new styles. 4 Women’s shiny acetate and 1 Men’s ultramatte acetate style. As always, all are polarized CR 39 with AR on the inside.

 

COLOR STORY

Greens are the inspiration for this Summer, although Purple still crops up as always. A conscious move away from the Fall earthtones towards an optimistic flourish of brighter colors is the story here.

 

In acetate, we have a mix of ultramatte and hand-polished colors: FIREBRICK, VIOLET MAGENTA, and STEEL BLUE DARK ORCHID are all exclusive new vibrant colors from our Japanese acetate workshop.

 

In titanium, ZUCCHINI CARRIBEAN GREEN, DARK GREEN LIGHT BLUE, PURPLE DARK GREEN AND RED ORANGE TAN will brighten up the high-end independent frame boards this summer, while REGALIA JUNE BUD is still an enigma to most, and who has seen a red Zucchini!

 

THE NAMES

Continuing our “ what were you smoking when you named these?” basis for naming our frames, we have chosen “Claudioisms”. Since Claudio has joined us, and even long before, his use/misuse of English idioms has brought great delight to our internal communication. Now we can share some of the gems short enough to fit on a temple!

 

Countries around the world:

U.S.A
CANADA
BELGIUM
FRANCE
ITALY
LUXEMBOURG
NETHERLANDS
SWITZERLAND
U.K.
ISRAEL
HONG KONG
JAPAN
MALAYSIA
SOUTH KOREA
TAIWAN
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND

GERMANY

SINGAPORE

SPAIN

DENMARK

Our policy everywhere is to maintain the exclusive distribution
Of our brand, so as to help build a much sought after product.

Quality, innovation of materials, wearability, and color
Are the core values of bevel.