Michael Holmes Premium Eyewear

Michael Holmes Premium Eyewear is a family-owned independent eyewear boutique and optometrists in New Zealand. They offer innovative eyewear designs that possess craftsmanship and timeless, modern design. Since their inception they have also won numerous retail awards. As such their newly refurbished retail space in Newmarket needed to reflect their values, and uphold their award-winning track record.

Creative studio Think & Shift provided the concept design, and we worked alongside them to create a calming, zen-like space to showcase the eyewear, with customer features that elevate the shopping experience into something a bit more special.

American Maple was the only timber used throughout the space in order to create a calming effect on the eye, and worked harmoniously with the concrete floors, beams and ceilings, and white walls.

Cabinetry included glazed sunglass cabinets with sliding doors and lockable storage drawers, and wall-mounted dowel peg-boards with storage sideboards underneath.

The main item of furniture was the reception desk, which is also the most utilised. To maintain its longevity we used black Polaris HPL (high pressure laminate) from Plytech, with surface features including low-light reflectivity, and scratch, heat and fingerprint resistance. The desk is shrouded with a maple veneer ‘case’ to hide desk paraphernalia.

A lovely little touch were the portable and wall-mounted sunglass trays which allow customers to choose a selection of eyewear to then try on. It was great to showcase what the CNC machine is capable of on the wall-mounted tray, by routing an elegant ‘lip’ on the edge.

Finally, there is a gentle nod to the Japanese aesthetic with blocky plinths with curved tops to showcase eyewear to passersby in the window, and a simple maple-slat screen dividing the front of house from the consulting space behind.