Urban Optiques Announces New Ownership, Name and Grand Reopening Party

Nov. 12, 2009 - PRLog -- Urban Optiques Vision and Eyewear (formerly Urban Optiks of Northville) will officially celebrate its grand-reopening with a new owner, a new optometrist and new name Friday, November 20, 2009 at the Urban Optiques eyewear store in downtown Northville, MI.

Urban Optiks was recently purchased by Plymouth optometrist Dr. Michelle Calder Cardwell from the previous owner, Dr. Rob Diegel. Over the past month, the store has undergone extensive remodeling and recently re-opened for business with expanded hours.

As part of the change in ownership, the business also changed its name from Urban Optiks to "Urban Optiques."

"Urban Optiks has always been a fixture in downtown Northville, and we're thrilled to be able to continue serving the vision and eyewear needs of Northville and Metro-Detroit," said Dr. Michelle Calder Cardwell O.D., the new owner of Urban Optiques. "We're even more excited to be part of the thriving Northville downtown business district and to participate in its growth over the coming years."

From Urban Optiks to Urban Optiques

Opened in the mid-'90s as Shades Optical, the optical boutique quickly earned a reputation for carrying stylish and innovative eyewear that attracted patients and clients from as far away as Birmingham and Ann Arbor. The business was purchased by Dr. Diegel in 2004 and underwent its first name change, becoming "Urban Optiks." For several years, the business grew at a rapid pace, counting everyone from professional athletes and business leaders, to local artists and soccer moms among its clientele.

However, when Dr. Diegel's wife was forced to relocate to Indianapolis for employment, Urban Optiks pulled back its hours as Diegel tried to juggle a new practice in Indianapolis, as well as a third, existing business in East Lansing.  The pressure of trying to operate three businesses across three different cities and two states eventually prompted Dr. Diegel to sell the Northville practice to Dr. Calder Cardwell, who had been seeing patients as Urban Optiks' resident optometrist since August.

"I fell in love with Urban Optiks the minute I walked in," explains Dr. Calder Cardwell. "The environment of the store was exactly what I wanted in my own practice. It was fun, stylish and very 'un-doctors-office.' Rob also has a great talent for picking eyewear, so I wasn't starting at ground level when it came to acquiring high-quality, fashionable frame stock. It was already there."

In terms of the name change, Dr. Calder Cardwell says that it was done primarily so that the business could own its own Internet domain.

Dr. Diegel's Indianapolis optics store is also called "Urban Optiks," which complicated launching a distinctive website for the Northville business with its own Internet address.

"If it hadn't been for the website issue, we probably would have kept the 'Urban Optiks' name," Dr. Calder Cardwell explains. "We actually loved the name, but we needed to own our own domain name, which just wasn't possible without one of us renaming our businesses."

New Investments in Technology, Optometric Equipment and Marketing
Since taking over the business earlier this month, Dr. Calder Cardwell has continued to invest heavily in growing it, launching a brand-new website, completing the first phase of the remodeling, and adding more emphasis on marketing and advertising to spread the word.

She says they will also be making significant investments in the businesses technology infrastructure, including offering online scheduling for patients through the Urban Optiques website, as well as acquiring additional optometric equipment to allow Dr. Calder Cardwell to diagnose and treat some specialty vision conditions.

Expanded Eyewear Selection

In terms of eyewear, there will be some changes there as well, says Dr. Calder Cardwell.

While Urban Optiques will continue to carry most of their current, popular brands like Oliver Peoples, Prada, Lafont, Ray-Ban and Tag Heuer, they are expanding the selection from some manufacturers, as well as adding additional, new eyewear lines. The most recent to be added are eyeglass frames and sunglasses from Tom Ford and Paris fashion house Chloé.  Dr. Calder Cardwell also expects to grow their vintage collection significantly in the coming months.

All of luxury brands that Urban Optiks was famous for will stay, says Dr. Calder Cardwell. Even in a lackluster economy, she says the exclusive brands like Chrome Hearts, Fred and Badgley Mischka continue to sell, primarily because Urban Optiques is one of the few local eyewear shops that are authorized to carry them.

"There will always be a demand for premium eyewear among people who love great eyeglasses or sunglasses," says Dr. Calder Cardwell. "Our view is that carrying these lines that you can't get at chain vision centers or big-box wholesale optical centers is actually a big differentiator for our clients and patients. "

To that end, Dr. Calder Cardwell says that they will be actually expanding the number of pieces in their exclusive Chrome Hearts collection (http://www.urbanoptiques.com/eyewear/designer-eyewear/chr...) over the coming months.

"Since there are very few authorized Chrome Hearts retailers in Michigan, we get calls from all over the state for their eyeglasses and sunglasses," says Dr. Calder Cardwell.  "So the demand is definitely there."

Grand Re-Opening Party and Open House

The Urban Optiques grand reopening party and open house will be from 6 pm to 10 pm Friday, November 20th at the optometry practice's recently remodeled storefront in historic downtown Northville. The event is free and open to the public. There will be food, beverages, door prizes and special eyewear discounts for the weekend.

The event will be an opportunity to not only meet Dr. Calder Cardwell and the Urban Optiques Team, but also check out some of the latest eyewear arrivals.

The grand-reopening event coincides with the Downtown Northville Hometown Holidays parade and the store will have extended hours both Friday night and Saturday afternoon for the Hometown Holidays merchant walk.

For details, contact Urban Optiques at 248-347-9090 or visit the Urban Optiques Website at http://www.urbanoptiques.com

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Urban Optiques (formerly Urban Optiks) offers complete vision health care and one of Metro-Detroit's most extensive collections of designer eyewear and sunglasses, in a fun, relaxed setting that makes you actually look forward to going to the eye doctor.

Urban Optiques is a full-scope vision care and eyewear boutique and is owned and operated by Plymouth optometrist Dr. Michelle Calder Cardwell O.D..