The Journey

The story of the LOFT is one of passion and independence. The concept was born from the idea of community within the independent sector of the eyewear industry. In the beginning it was the driving momentum of something different that drew the companies together. Pretty soon the feeling started to become infectious as more and more eyewear junkies began to open new stores and boutiques. From those humble beginnings our show has expanded to cater for all these eclectic and fiercely independent design houses.

Now more than ever, the gap between mainstream and independent seems larger. Big box companies are consolidating and the product channels are ever more generic. Small independent designers are finally getting noticed as more and more business owners look for a point of difference. These treasures can be found in the independent eyewear movement worldwide. Niche eyewear shows are popping up all over the globe to foster this market. End consumers are being educated about design and small batch quantities, asking retailers to stock their favorite collections.

The future has always been independent!

The future is now!

Loft History

TIMELINE

2000 - Bevel and Face a Face teamed up to start the LOFT NYC experience as longtime friends and one time roommates! First location was on 34th street in a private loft.

2002 - LOFT NYC moved to 35th street to Splashlight Studios - a very cool photo studio that was demolished in 2008 as part of the New York Subway construction project.

2008 - LOFT NYC finds it’s new home on 36th street at Skylight West and invite several other companies/friends to join including SALT and Ramassia.

2013 - The first LOFT LV is held at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas. A truly pioneering event that included more of our friends, Götti, Freudenhaus, Rolf Spectacles, Bellinger, Entourage Of 7 and Blac.

2015 - LOFT LV grew to be bigger and better than ever. 36 luxury collections in the same place made it the premiere luxury eyewear destination in Las Vegas. Our reputation for putting on a great and successful show had been solidified over the previous 2 years and 2015 proved no different.

2017 -  We presented a brand new 2 level concept at LOFT NYC which turned out to be a smash hit! So many more independent collections were on show and it was very well received and attended. In Las Vegas we debuted an entirely new show, moving from the Mandarin to the magnificent Keep Memory Alive facility which was designed by Frank Gehry. The show was our biggest yet in terms of vendors and new collections and the space was magnificent. We also presented an amazing panel discussion format called Viewpoint which featured 10 successful women in the optical field.

2019 - Our event in NYC expanded in 2019 with the inclusion of 2 new buildings a block away from our main site. We welcomed many new and exciting vendors including Mykita, who along with Salt, anchored these new spaces. We also completed a very successful new venture creating an independent eyewear event over a weekend in San Francisco!!

2020 - The new year marked our 20th Anniversary in New York City. Our tiny show initially featuring only a couple of independent brands has blossomed over the years into a gigantic event across 3 buildings and a couple of blocks in the City. Unfortunately the pandemic caused the cancellation of the event and we were not able to celebrate this milestone.

2021 - We had to cancel our NYC event in May but we had a very successful show in San Francisco in September at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture where we first scheduled a show back in 2019. Obviously the pandemic had severely affected the scope of trade shows during these years.

2022 - We were very excited and happy to see everyone once again at our New York event! We also welcomed new vendors to our San Francisco event during th year as that show continues to become a more popular alternative to the industry event in Las Vegas.

2023 - The LOFT show this year was a wonderfully successful event. We had an increase in overall foot traffic and a lot of new visitors found there way to our venue. The legendary LOFT Independence Party was back in 2023! The San Francisco event in September saw an increase in traffic from the previous year and we are continuing to provide a viable alternative for brands and customers who want an event on the West Coast.