INSPIRED BY OUR EARLIEST ANCESTOR
The Bay Window Collection
The oldest piece of our family history dates back over two centuries ago, taking place in Pfaffenwiesbach, Germany.
One brisk night in the streets of this small town, a baby was anonymously left in the nook of an open bay window, leaving
the child both orphaned and nameless. Upon a stranger finding the baby, they were given a name to reflect the earliest
piece of the child's life. As the German word for bay window is erker, this marked the beginning of our family name.
Past Meets Present
In the creation of our frames, it's known that we are influenced by the architectural intricacies of the historic buildings of downtown St. Louis, where we've been based since our founding in 1879. In fact, St. Louis is rich in immigrant history, with many German elements melded into the city itself. Like the bay window, we look to the structures with elaborate moldings and those with a unique blend of modern and gothic elements to help inspire our designs.
Rooted in German Design
Neutral tones, natural elements, as well a a focus on simplicity and utilitarian elements are common themes amongst German design, which is reflected in the craft of our collections. From the subdued-modern color palette to the custom German hinge on each frame, our collection incorporates the characteristics of our heritage in every step of the design process.
We design each piece with the wearer in mind, focusing on creating a comfortable frame to last a lifetime. Using durable, high-quality materials like surgical steel, titanium, and cellulose acetate allows us to keep frames feeling strong yet weightless, while a focus on the litte detals brings character and life to our collection
THE TEMPLE TIPS
Our Family's Namesake
In remembrance of our origin story, we've added an emblem of the bay window to each frame in this collection. Seen as either a metal etching or gold plate inlaid in our custom acetate, each temple tip is adored bay a bay window, with our year of inception on the opposite side.
