The owners Assia, at right, and Rama Valentin at their shop Atelier Mira in Brooklyn.
Credit
Stefania Curto for The New York Times
Where We Shop
Frames That Play Hard to Get
Atelier Mira, a luxury optical boutique, opened quietly on Grand Street in Brooklyn this spring. Now, at least when the L train stops running, Williamsburg residents won’t have to worry about finding fabulous eyewear. The owners are Assia and Rama Valentin (shown above), eyewear distributors known for representing Anne & Valentin (which Mr. Valentin’s parents founded) and Theo eyewear. Their selection focuses on handmade frames from independent and hard-to-find international labels, like La Petite Lunette Rouge from France, Masahiro Maruyama from Japan and Kuboraum, an unconventional and dark line designed in Berlin — and Anne & Valentin and Theo, of course. Prices range from $300 to $600, with a few upward of $1,000. For the eyewear connoisseur, here is a new go-to destination.
This bamboo bag from the Los Angeles accessories label Cult Gaia, a reproduction of a classic Japanese picnic bag, should not be limited to the park. Make it an unexpected everyday carryall this summer.
Cult Gaia bamboo handbag, $98 for the large, $88 for the small, to order at Fivestory; fivestory.com.
Photo
Merlette at modaoperandi.com.
Marina Cortbawi, an Australian who has worked in New York for Oscar de la Renta and, most recently, Carolina Herrera, where she managed international sales, has taken her experience as a world traveler to introduce her own line. Merlette, named for a village in St. Bart’s and a bird in French heraldry that symbolizes the restless traveler, was conceived for the women Ms. Cortbawi met on her work trips — “women who are always hungry to travel, excited about new experiences and living in new places,” as she characterized them. The easy pieces are made in cotton with eyelet and hand-embroidered details. There’s a matching short-sleeve top, $160, and ruffled skirt, $200 (a great little duo that comes in black and white); a long-sleeve dress with smocking, $320; and a red wrap blouse with balloon sleeves, $280. These are the things you pack and know you will wear.
