Designers to Watch: COTI Vision

Reading Small The Print In Style

A uniquely creative brand brings fashion, function and fun to a growing category.

Founded by longtime friends and former colleagues Nancy Gries and Julie Hawkins, COTI Vision was born from a simple but universal frustration: never having your glasses exactly when you need them. Both women had spent their careers in optics and understood the gap in the market firsthand. As they entered what they describe as the “reading glasses age,” they found the available options uninspiring and outdated — so rather than accept that reality, they set out to reinvent it.

The result is a line of glasses chains designed to work together as a complete, stylish solution. No more misplaced readers, no more digging through a bag — just thoughtfully designed eyewear holders that stay close at hand, looking good while it does it. COTI Vision has reimagined the entire eyewear accessory space, proving that practicality and fashion not only can coexist, but should.

Man wearing a white textured polo shirt with COTI Vision reading glasses suspended from a black neck cord necklace. The portrait highlights the brand's signature blend of eyewear functionality and contemporary style

Nancy Gries and Julie Hawkins posing at the COTI Vision trade show booth, wearing the brand's eyewear accessories and reading glass necklaces. The display features colorful eyewear chains and lifestyle imagery that reflect COTI Vision's fashion-focused approach to optical accessories.

Even more compelling, each glasses holder can be easily converted into a standalone necklace, making it the perfect versatile accessory and the perfect travel companion.

That fresh perspective recently earned the brand well-deserved recognition: at this year’s NOW by Vision Expo exhibition, the Accessories Council presented COTI Vision with an award celebrating innovation, style, and a distinctive point of view.

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