January Recap: Tropic Tortoise, Paws+Perks and Gōst Event

Can you quite believe January is over? Whether you made it through with a list of conquered resolutions or not - you’ve completed what always feels like the longest month of the year, an achievement in itself! We’ve been busy beating those January blues at IOLLA, setting ourselves up for an exciting year to come and making sure to have some fun in the meantime! We thought we’d share some of our favourite memories from the month with our community.

Introducing Speckled Ivory + Tropic Tortoise.

During an otherwise very grey month, we decided to inject some colour back into the world with our most colourful acetate yet, kicking off the year with a bang! Tropic Tortoise is the latest acetate in the IOLLA eco acetate lineup that was made to stand out. Whether you’re looking to better reflect your personality in your eyewear or have decided 2024 is the year you step out of your Vanilla Tortoise comfort zone. Experiment with tropical flecks of green and pink in either Ferguson, Shaw or Douglas.

Feeling drawn toward a more muted palette? Let us introduce Speckled Ivory, the second acetate in our launch of eco acetates. Available in Allan and Swinton, the pearlescent Ivory with a champagne undertone is the white you’ve been dreaming of. A Speckled Ivory pair of Allan sunglasses has already gained the ‘Perfect Wedding Sunglasses’ accolade among our teams.

Head over to our instagram for the ultimate inspiration for this new collection and get some behind the scenes on our shoot too!

Paws and Perks

What better way to enjoy a Sunday in a very dreich Glasgow in January than on a community dog walk with lots of furry friends! In our Finnieston showroom, we organised our very first community dog walk, and what a success it was. Odd Dogs joined us, hosting their pop-up in-store – a fantastic opportunity for our customers to chat with the Odd Dogs team and grab the very best treats and accessories for their beloved pets. A stroll around Kelvingrove, led by our Finnieston Assistant Manager Katie, provided the perfect chance for all attendees to get to know one another and their accompanying pups. Upon returning to the showroom, coffees, teas, and hot chocolates – graciously made by our neighbours at Roast – were just what we needed to warm up after our crisp walk. We're hugely grateful for everyone who joined us and to both Odd Dogs and Roast for helping bring our community walk to life.

Gōst Event

We wrapped up the month with our Founder and CEO, Stefan Hunter, taking the spotlight at a Gōst Presents Brunch hosted by Courtney Flynn. Stefan delved into the brand's journey, navigating the optical industry from a business perspective, mastering the art of frame design, and fostering the growth of our team from a small Finnieston shop to a brand spanning 4 locations across the UK with a continually expanding team. Commentary on future brand goals and progressions was followed by a candid Q&A session. Attendees posed their burning questions, ranging from how IOLLA navigates the industry solely selling glasses and not testing eyes to our commitment to eco-initiatives. And of course, the ever-important secret to keeping your glasses clean! We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to connect with individuals on our journey, getting to know like-minded people in our industry.