All Eyes, From Sebastopol to Hollywood

Allyn Scura didn’t start out making old-fashioned styled eyewear. She started by collecting it.

Allyn Scura started her company in New York City, but moved it to Sebastopol to be near family.

Her family was in the furniture business, with her as a designer. Scura’s work took her to North Carolina frequently, and she began buying vintage eye glasses from antique shops. She had her prescription fitted to some.

Back in New York City, whenever she wore them people stopped her on the street to inquire about them. She came across a stash of 5,000 frames in New Jersey and another 40,000 from a former eyewear distributor.

Before long, Scura left furniture behind as she entered a new profession and started Allyn Scura Eyewear in New York City with her new husband, Scott Iseyama.

They’ve been in the trade for 23 years, eventually moving to Southern California to be closer to family.

“Then we visited Allyn’s brother one Thanksgiving and fell in love with Sebastopol,” said Iseyama. By this time they had two children and thought it would be a perfect place to raise them.

Actor Brad Pitt wears glasses from Allyn Scura in "Tree of Life," one of many movies that feature the Sebastopol company's eyewear.


Actor, Brad Pitt on the movie set of Tree of Life, wearing the Legend frame in grey fade(031-03).

After years of collecting vintage eyeglass frames, Scura realized their numbers were limited, so the couple began to design new frames in the old styles for people who wanted them, working with a Japanese manufacturer.

Their first big national break came when a Revlon representative spotted their products in a vintage fashion show and commissioned them to make 1950s cat-eye frames for Cindy Crawford to wear in a commercial.

Hollywood commissions soon followed, including the Legend horn rims they designed for Brad Pitt in the recently released “Tree of Life.”

“The frame is dark at the top and fades at the bottom,” says Iseyama. “They were popular in the 1960s, and continue to be popular amongst fashionistas because of their unique styling.”

The firm also is making eyewear that will appear in “The Words,” starring Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons, and “Argo,” starring Ben Affleck.

“We don’t solicit films, but once you are on a prop person’s list, they find you,” Iseyama says.

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