Dave Spencer

Who: Dave Spencer, a West St. Paul native and Golden Valley resident and owner/ designer of Ogi Frames, a company focusing on hip, stylish, affordable eyeglass frames.

His Story: The original owner of Uptown’s Specs, Spencer sold the company in 1995 to design frames after realizing there was a market for unique, well-designed glasses geared to younger people who did not want to spend an entire paycheck (or two) on a pair of high-end designer frames.

The Name: Spencer’s then-toddler son would say “ogi-ogi-ogi-I” to get his parents to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” They later discovered that oggi means “today” in Italian. Fitting, since much of his material is from Italy.

Optical Allusion: “I’ve been exposed to the optical business since I was a kid—my dad’s an eye doctor. Not many people in the United States design frames—maybe a dozen. There’s no eyeglass school—I’m self-taught. U.S. designers are hot right now in Europe, so it’s [perfect timing] . . . I can’t figure out how I made it. Local optical retailers had pity on a local designer,” says Spencer. “And as it turns out, I’m really good at art.”

Framework: During a busy week, he designs forty to fifty frames. After a few weeks, he picks through and chooses favorites and then develops roughly eighty styles throughout the year. As for materials, he says, “I really like acetate and plastic for the depth of color and options and combine it with metal. I like frames with multiple colors. I tend to go dark—if you’re gonna wear glasses, make ’em show.”

Farsighted: Spencer and his brother, Craig, own Domani and design vanity tops and backsplashes, using Ultrathin, a pearlescent plastic they discovered while scouting for frame materials in Italy. Domani means “tomorrow” in Italian—“My kids didn’t come up with that one,” he jokes.

Eye Appeal: Spencer has offices in Montreal and Munich and travels the world to do trade shows. Look for Ogi at Specs Appeal, Visionary, Glasses Menagerie, i Ware on Second, and Fifth Avenue Optical, 763-592-1493