All About Our Eyewear
Revival: How it all came into focus
2014Jon and Jenna meet teaching at SDSU, and they notice that they're both super funny and have great style. Obviously, they become friends.
2018Jon discovers a pair of 40-year-old Nikon browline sunglasses in Japan that are unworn and in perfect condition with their original tags.
Still 2018Jon starts Grand and Garnet selling vintage eyewear online but needs help!
2019 - 2020That is when Jenna joins the team and they start amassing thousands of frames from the last four decades, fulfilling hundreds of orders each month.
2021They think San Diego is ready for an all-vintage eyewear store. So, they celebrate the grand opening of Revival Vintage Eyewear in October, 2021 in the historic neighborhood of North Park. Ovbiously, they drink a lot of champagne.
NowYou swing on by, get an exam with Dr. Bui, and the team matches you with your perfect pair. It’s love at first sight.
Who runs this joint, anyway?
Meet Jon
ABO certified optician, Lead Quality Assurance Nerd
Favorite eyewear brand: Monb (the unknown JPG and YSL), hands down.
I should have been born in: 1970, so I could have enjoyed the very first Star Wars film as a kid in 1977.
Catchphrase: “I could make that.”
When I’m not at Revival, I’m: Spending time with my wife and pets, thinking about Revival, or planning my next trip back to Japan.Jon's story
I’ve been wearing glasses on my face 24/7 since middle school, so I guess it was almost inevitable that I would eventually become obsessed with a product so integral to my life.
Prior to Revival, I spent five years building a vintage watch business that primarily focused on Japanese-made products. As a pretty huge geek for craftsmanship, I really appreciated the construction and materials of vintage products. They were exponentially better than anything on the market today.
"When I discovered deadstock vintage eyewear, that was the moment I began seeing glasses as something more than just a utilitarian device."
I knew I wanted to introduce other people to these incredible fashion pieces.
My favorite part of what I do is sourcing products, thinking about how to make Revival more efficient, and building prescriptions and adjusting frames. In other words, you can usually find me in the back getting my hands dirty, but I like to pop out from time to time to say hello and wax poetic about our latest kickass collection of Japanese and German frames.
Meet Jenna
ABO certified optician, Eyewear Stylist Extraordinaire
Favorite eyewear brand: Menrad or Silhouette.
I should have been born in: 1975! The colors and details of glasses were out of this world.
Catchphrase: Wowza!
When I’m not at Revival, I’m: Hiking, traveling, or hanging out with the cutest dog in the land, Goldie.
Jenna's story
The moment I fell in love with vintage eyewear was in 2019. I was in the back of Jon’s shop in Pacific Beach, marveling at pair after pair of gorgeous, decades-old frames. The colors, shapes, and quality were like nothing I had ever seen. I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
In my life before Revival, I had careers in academia, real-estate, banking, and more, but nothing tops curating vintage frames and helping people look and feel their best!
“When I’m not connecting with customers, I’m probably brainstorming new ways to partner with other small businesses and engage our North Park community. Or watching Golden Girls and Law and Order SVU episodes on repeat.”