CHICAGO and MIAMI—The Italian Trade Commission, via its offices in Chicago and Miami, are organizing two events and workshops for U.S. optical buyers and eyecare professionals, to encourage them to learn more about the capabilities and see the latest product collections of Italian luxury eyewear manufacturers.

According to Elena Phillips of the Italian Trade Agency at the Italian Trade Commission, a workshop is being planned in Chicago on Oct. 13 and 14, at the Chicago Hilton Hotel. Sixteen Italian eyewear companies will take part in the event, which is being put together with the cooperation of ANFAO, National Association of Optical Goods Manufacturers of Italy.

Optical retailers who are interested in attending the Chicago event can learn more by contacting Phillipps at e.phillips@ice.it.

In Miami, a similar two-day exhibition for the eyewear sector is planned for Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. That event will be held at the Hilton Miami Downtown from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm on the first day and 9:00 am to 7:00 pm on the second day.

Those optical retailers or ECPs who are interested in attending the Miami event can learn more by contacting the Miami ICE office at Tel. (305) 461-3896 or miami@ice.it.

Participating Italian eyewear companies include: Area 98, Atmosphera, Exalt Distribuzione, Fabbrica Torino, Fralux, G.B., Glam, Italian Independent, Italia Invest, La Giardiniera, LogoProjectDesign, Ioves, Luxol, Martini Occhiali, MDM, Nico, Pramaor, Thema and Trevi Coliseum SRL.

The objective of both exhibitions is to foster business opportunities and relationships between Italian and foreign companies, the organization of business meetings (B2B) with potential partners, from the U.S. and other countries.