Eye Candy
Optical store owner looks to high fashion designers

By Marlene Lucas - The Gazette
April 18th, 2006

IOWA CITY — A class project of her son’s convinced Joni Schrup, a longtime optician, that she could open her own shop.

The result of that ‘‘ah-ha’’ moment is Discerning Eye at 119 E. Washington St. It offers exclusive frame styles and cutting-edge lens technology in a setting worthy of a high-end Chicago retail district, says Schrup of Cedar Rapids.

‘‘The store complements the uniqueness of downtown Iowa City and it provides the exceptional retail experience found in larger metropolitan areas,’’ she says.

Eye-chart letters enhancing the store’s entrance give customers a clue that behind the door lies a distinctive optical store. Missing are the racks and racks of eye-glass frames. Schrup displays frames grouped by designer, as if each were a work of art.

Customers will find frames by Fendi of Italy, Mikli Pact of New York, Paul Frank of California, Gotti of Switzerland, Harry Lary’s of Paris, Ooh La-La of Paris and other designers.

 ‘‘I did a lot of research. The goal was to find things no one else carried. For many of them, the closest you can purchase them is in Chicago,’’ Schrup says.

Her best selling frames are by Harry Lary’s of Paris, described by the designer as ‘‘glam-rock.’’

 ‘‘It’s ’50s retro chic, all about color, design and crystal detail that’s not a whole lot of bling,’’ Schrup says. ‘‘We’re the only one with this line in Iowa.’’

Schrup, 51, and office manager, Joni Long, 40, of Coralville, have a combined 40 years of experience working in optical shops. They are known as the Jonis and have customers who sought them out after the Jonis left their former employers.

The idea to open the shop came while Schrup’s son, Sam Schrup, 22, of Iowa City, was writing a business plan for an entrepreneur class at the University of Iowa.

Sam’s topic was an optical store because he had an aide in research within the family, his mother says.  ‘‘The further he got into it, he said, ‘You know, this is a possibility we could do,’ ’’ she says.

Schrup invested $240,000 to open the store. She hired Sanjay Jani of Akar Design in Iowa City to give the store’s interior a distinctive look with the unique display areas, custom-made furniture and chiffon curtains that encircle two work stations.

 ‘‘When you come in, you get a ‘wow’ factor,’’ says Sam Schrup.  Discerning Eye is a full-service optical store, with Dr. Dan Wolfe providing eye exams in the shop part time.

The store also offers sunglasses, contact lenses, watches, handbags, jewelry and scarves. Frame prices range from $100 to $695.

Joni Schrup says she sells frames that make ‘‘the difference between seeing and being seen.’’