Beech Street Eyeworks, over 50 years in the making and now finally unveiled. I am Douglas Gaudet, a licensed Dispensing Optician for nearly 1/2 a century! Along with my wife Debra, we owned and worked Gaudet Optical and Underground Eyewear in Halifax. During that long successful business, we not only introduced some of  the most profound and avante-guard eyewear to Nova Scotians, but I also began making frames in my “spare time”. They were unusual, shall we say. Generally they were for the most eclectic of our clientele, but some were done for theatre, TV, and cinema. 

When it came time to sell our practice, “retirement” and serendipity led me to meeting and mentoring with John Barr. He is an unparalleled world class frame maker, specializing in precision hand made eyewear, with over 60 years experience. His knowledge, talent, and friendship took my elemental abilities to a level I never thought possible. With an array of specialized hand tools, vintage equipment, hand made machinery along with John’s amazing teaching and encouragement, we un-retired and formed Beech Street Eyeworks .

The number of frames I make is minimal, taking 2-3 days per frame but the results are truly special. The designs are inspired, eccentric, and full of surprises. Our inventory is usually low, but we keep enough on hand to represent the possibilities of the always changing collection.