The Story
Eyewear is about your relationship to others as much as it is about your relationship with you
It all began in Finland
I’m Elina Varonen, the founder of Trend Optic.
My story starts in Finland where I grew up. My journey to Melbourne took place almost a decade after graduating and qualifying as an Optometrist from Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu. I established my first store in the heart of Helsinki with a like minded business partner. A dissatisfaction with what bigger companies offered led me to uncover and build unique collections of bespoke frames and styles. I sourced pieces from hard to find makers, almost unheard of outside a select few outlets – where frames were designed and shaped by artisans dedicated to their craft and handmade in a way lost to the modern era.
The SiSu Philosophy
I focus on building a collection based on what my customers will love, looking for subtleties and quality. Something the big brands ignore because not enough people may notice it. But I care, it’s in my DNA. In Finnish, we call it SiSu. It’s a philosophy of living, a way of being. I go the extra mile to find the extraordinary, the understated, the elegant, the type of classic style that embodies the prestige of durability, of discreet ostentation without affectations.
The closer you look at eyewear, the more you discover about it, and the more you fall in love with it. When you invest in quality you discover a unique essential element or something about the way it’s crafted that resonates with you, or something that you discover that’s kind of what makes that product personal to you.
I don’t invest in here today gone tomorrow consumable designs like the many seasonal avant-garde frames that are one and done – Trend Optic is about tailored classics with a little bit of a twist to them that fit you like a glove. I want people to put them on and say okay, that’s what I’m looking for. I don’t know if there’s a particular quality to it, but I do know that it takes skill and craft and a trained eye to see the difference and appreciate that aesthetic.